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US /ˈbɒld/ UK /ˈbəʊld/
Freq #4889

Meanings

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Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 adj · brave and confident;... bravedaringcourageousaudacious
4 adj · too confident or rude in a... forwardimpudent
More embolden
Word family
Forms bolderboldestbolds
Derived forms bold-facedbold-heartedboldaciousboldfaceboldfacedboldheadboldishboldlyboldshipdemiboldextraboldnonbold
Related forms bieldboldenboldnessembolden

Appears in

Etymology

From Middle English bold, bolde, bald, beald, from Old English bald, beald (“bold, brave, confident, strong, of good courage, presumptuous, impudent”), from Proto-West Germanic *balþ, from Proto-Germanic *balþaz (“strong, bold”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-, *bʰlē- (“to bloat, swell, bubble”). Cognate with Dutch boud (“bold, courageous, fearless”), Middle High German balt (“bold”) (whence German bald (“soon”)), Swedish båld (“bold, dauntless”). Perhaps related to Albanian ballë (“forehead”) and Old Prussian balo (“forehead”). Compare typologically Italian affrontare (“to face, to deal with…

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