*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of bield

From Middle English belde, beeld, beld, from Old English bieldu (“courage, boldness”), from Proto-Germanic *balþį̄ (“boldness”), from *balþaz (“bold”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to inflate, swell”). Cognate with

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Boldness, courage; confidence; a feeling of security, assurance. · Resource, help, relief; a means of help or relief; support; sustenance. · Shelter, refuge or protection. · A place of shelter, a refuge.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English belde, beeld, beld, from Old English bieldu (“courage, boldness”), from Proto-Germanic *balþį̄ (“boldness”), from *balþaz (“bold”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to inflate, swell”). Cognate with Old High German baldī (“boldness, courage”) (Middle High German belde), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹 (balþei, “boldness, courage”). More at bold.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "belde"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English belde"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "bieldu",
        "4": "",
        "5": "courage, boldness"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English bieldu (“courage, boldness”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*balþį̄",
        "4": "",
        "5": "boldness"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *balþį̄ (“boldness”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*bʰel-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to inflate, swell"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to inflate, swell”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "baldī",
        "3": "",
        "4": "boldness, courage"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German baldī (“boldness, courage”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmh",
        "2": "belde"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German belde"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹",
        "t": "boldness, courage"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹 (balþei, “boldness, courage”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "belde",
      "belde#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "beeld",
      "beeld#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "beld",
      "beld#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "bieldu",
      "bieldu#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*balþį̄",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/balþį̄"
    ],
    [
      "*balþaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/balþaz"
    ],
    [
      "*bʰel-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰel-"
    ],
    [
      "baldī",
      "baldi#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "belde",
      "belde#Middle_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹",
      "𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "bold",
      "bold#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Boldness, courage; confidence; a feeling of security, assurance.",
        "Resource, help, relief; a means of help or relief; support; sustenance.",
        "Shelter, refuge or protection.",
        "A place of shelter, a refuge."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete",
        "uncountable",
        "usually",
        "Northern-England",
        "archaic"
      ],
      "recordId": "00e2f5c3dfbe08a08ee21e7b084e4301ab3c906f2692f77c16a188075172ae4b",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 3012001
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To make bold, give courage or confidence to. · To defend, protect or shelter.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English beelden, belden, from Old English byldan, bieldan (“to encourage, embolden”), from Proto-Germanic *balþijaną (“to make bold”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to inflate, swell”). Cognate with Old Saxon beldjan (“to encourage”), Old High German baldēn (“to make bold”) (Middle High German belden), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌾𐌰𐌽 (balþjan, “to make bold”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "beelden"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English beelden"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "byldan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English byldan"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*balþijaną",
        "t": "to make bold"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *balþijaną (“to make bold”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*bʰel-",
        "t": "to inflate, swell"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to inflate, swell”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "osx",
        "2": "beldjan",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to encourage"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Saxon beldjan (“to encourage”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "baldēn",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to make bold"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German baldēn (“to make bold”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmh",
        "2": "belden"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German belden"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌾𐌰𐌽",
        "t": "to make bold"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌾𐌰𐌽 (balþjan, “to make bold”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "beelden",
      "beelden#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "belden",
      "belden#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "byldan",
      "byldan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "bieldan",
      "bieldan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*balþijaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/balþijaną"
    ],
    [
      "*bʰel-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰel-"
    ],
    [
      "beldjan",
      "beldjan#Old_Saxon"
    ],
    [
      "baldēn",
      "balden#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "belden",
      "belden#Middle_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌾𐌰𐌽",
      "𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌾𐌰𐌽#Gothic"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To make bold, give courage or confidence to.",
        "To defend, protect or shelter."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal",
        "obsolete",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "39e85577c8574f16ebffdc5709e829eae4e423d5ba14b815b3603e2387d1bf4b",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 3012002
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
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  }
}

Where this record stops

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Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YmllbGQ