Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗adj
Having little or no hair, fur, or feathers. · Having little or no hair on the head, or having a large area of bare scalp on top of the head. · Of animals, having areas (of fur or plumage) that are colored white, especially on the head. · Of hair, nonexistent.
verb
To become bald. · To make bald.
noun
Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventoryA mountain summit or crest, or any relatively flat area at high elevation, that lacks forest growth despite a warm climate conducive to such, as is found in many places in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. · A bald person.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-der. Proto-Germanic *balluz Old English *beall Middle English bal? Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- Proto-Indo-European *bʰḗlH-o-m Proto-Germanic *bēlą Proto-West Germanic *bāl Old English bæl? Middle English balled English bald From Middle English balled, ballid, bald (“bald”), of uncertain origin. Probably formed from Middle English bal, balle (“ball, round object, knoll, head”). Compare Old Danish bældet (“bald”). An alternate etymology relates it to Old English bǣl (“fire, flame; funeral pyre”), from Proto-Germanic *bēlą. Compare Albanian balë (“white spot on the forehead”) and ballë (“forehead”).
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
This page abbreviates 4 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
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"3": "enm:balled<ety:from<enm:bal<id:Q12507><unc>>:inh<ang:bæl<unc>>>",
"id": "having little or no hair",
"tree": "1"
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"3": "balled"
},
"expansion": "Middle English balled"
},
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},
"expansion": "Middle English bal"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "gmq-oda",
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"t": "bald"
},
"expansion": "Old Danish bældet (“bald”)"
},
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"name": "cog",
"args": {
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"2": "bǣl",
"t": "fire, flame; funeral pyre"
},
"expansion": "Old English bǣl (“fire, flame; funeral pyre”)"
},
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"2": "gem-pro",
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},
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},
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"t": "white spot on the forehead"
},
"expansion": "Albanian balë (“white spot on the forehead”)"
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"tree": "1"
},
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}
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],
[
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"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/balluz#Proto-Germanic:_ball"
],
[
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],
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"ballid",
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],
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"bald",
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],
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"bal",
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],
[
"balle",
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],
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],
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"bǣl",
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],
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"*bēlą",
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],
[
"balë",
"balë#Albanian"
],
[
"ballë",
"ballë#Albanian"
]
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{
"pos": "adj",
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"Having little or no hair, fur, or feathers.",
"Having little or no hair on the head, or having a large area of bare scalp on top of the head.",
"Of animals, having areas (of fur or plumage) that are colored white, especially on the head.",
"Of hair, nonexistent."
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"glosses": [
"To become bald.",
"To make bald."
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"A bald person."
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