bulge

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /bʌldʒ/ UK /bʌldʒ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a rounded swelling or protrusion; to swell outward

His pockets bulged with coins from the day's takings.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a rounded swelling or... swelling protrusion bump lump protuberance swell balloon distend

Opposites

dent hollow depression cavity

Word family

Forms bulgy

Derived forms bulgingbulgybulged

Related forms budget

Simplified etymology

Bulge entered English in the Middle English period and comes from Latin bulga “leather sack, bag,” the same ultimate source as budget.

Etymology

From Old French boulge, bouge ('leather bag, wallet'), from Latin bulga ('leather sack'), of Gaulish origin. The sense 'to swell' developed from the bag's rounded shape.

boulge Old French bulga la-lat

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# bulge

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /bʌldʒ/
**IPA (UK):** /bʌldʒ/

## Meanings
1. a rounded swelling or protrusion; to swell outward

## Examples
- His pockets bulged with coins from the day's takings.

## Synonyms
- swelling
- protrusion
- bump
- lump
- protuberance
- swell
- balloon
- distend

## Antonyms
- dent
- hollow
- depression
- cavity

## Derived Forms
- bulging
- bulgy
- bulged

## Related Forms
- budget

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: boulge
- Root: bulga

## Etymology
From Old French boulge, bouge ('leather bag, wallet'), from Latin bulga ('leather sack'), of Gaulish origin. The sense 'to swell' developed from the bag's rounded shape.

## AI Etymology
Bulge is a noun and verb meaning "a rounded swelling or protrusion; to swell outward". Historically, it is from Old French boulge, bouge ('leather bag, wallet'), from Latin bulga ('leather sack'), of Gaulish origin. The sense 'to swell' developed from the bag's rounded shape. The semantic history matters here: the earlier use is the starting point, and the modern sense, "a rounded swelling or protrusion; to swell outward", is the later or specialized English value. The historical chain links Old French boulge with Latin bulga. Close English family members include bulging, bulgy, bulged, and budget.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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