*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of bulk

From Middle English bulk, bolke (“a heap, cargo, hold; heap; bulge”), borrowed from Old Norse búlki (“the freight or the cargo of a ship”), from Proto-Germanic *bulkô (“beam, pile, heap”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ

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In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

Size, specifically, volume. · Any huge body or structure. · The major part of something. · Majority, balance.

verb

To appear or seem to be, as to bulk or extent. · To grow in size; to swell or expand. · To gain body mass by means of diet, exercise, etc. · To put or hold in bulk.

adj

Being large in size, mass, or volume (of goods, etc.). · Total.

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

From Middle English bulk, bolke (“a heap, cargo, hold; heap; bulge”), borrowed from Old Norse búlki (“the freight or the cargo of a ship”), from Proto-Germanic *bulkô (“beam, pile, heap”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ- (“beam, pile, prop”). Compare Icelandic búlkast (“to be bulky”), Swedish dialectal bulk (“a bunch”), Danish bulk (“bump, knob”). Conflated with Middle English bouk (“belly, trunk”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Root classification mention*bʰelǵ-ine-pro
  • Inherited-form mentionbulkenm
  • Derivation mentionbúlkinon · the freight or the cargo of a ship
  • Derivation mention*bulkôgem-pro · beam, pile, heap
  • Derivation mention*bʰelǵ-ine-pro · beam, pile, prop
  • Cognate mentionbúlkastis · to be bulky
  • Cognate mentionbulkda · bump, knob
  • Derivation mentionboukenm · belly, trunk

This page abbreviates 9 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.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*bʰelǵ-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "bulk"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English bulk"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "búlki",
        "t": "the freight or the cargo of a ship"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse búlki (“the freight or the cargo of a ship”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*bulkô",
        "t": "beam, pile, heap"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *bulkô (“beam, pile, heap”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*bʰelǵ-",
        "t": "beam, pile, prop"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ- (“beam, pile, prop”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "búlkast",
        "t": "to be bulky"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic búlkast (“to be bulky”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "bulk",
        "t": "bump, knob"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish bulk (“bump, knob”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "bouk",
        "t": "belly, trunk"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English bouk (“belly, trunk”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "bulk",
      "bulk#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "bolke",
      "bolke#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "búlki",
      "búlki#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*bulkô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/bulkô"
    ],
    [
      "*bʰelǵ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰelǵ-"
    ],
    [
      "búlkast",
      "búlkast#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "bulk",
      "bulk#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "bulk",
      "bulk#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "bouk",
      "bouk#Middle_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Size, specifically, volume.",
        "Any huge body or structure.",
        "The major part of something.",
        "Majority, balance."
      ],
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        "uncountable"
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    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To appear or seem to be, as to bulk or extent.",
        "To grow in size; to swell or expand.",
        "To gain body mass by means of diet, exercise, etc.",
        "To put or hold in bulk."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "transitive"
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 165560
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Being large in size, mass, or volume (of goods, etc.).",
        "Total."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "recordId": "51dc57c3a151929c2dfec8fd04199d14518f81ceea390302ea6b6d98eef46af6",
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  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 9,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for bulk →

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-YnVsaw