bowl
pronunciation
How to pronounce bowl in British English:
UK [bəʊl]
How to pronounce bowl in American English:
US [boʊl]
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- Noun:
- a round vessel that is open at the top; used for holding fruit or liquids or for serving food
- a concave shape with an open top
- a dish that is round and open at the top for serving foods
- the quantity contained in a bowl
- a large structure for open-air sports or entertainments
- a wooden ball (with flattened sides) used in the game of bowls
- a small round container that is open at the top for holding tobacco
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- Verb:
- roll (a ball)
- engage in the sport of bowling
Word Origin
- bowl
- bowl: Bowl ‘round receptacle’ [OE] and bowl ‘ball used in bowls’ [15] come from different sources. The former (Old English bolle or bolla) comes ultimately from the Germanic base *bul-, *bal-, which was also the source of English ball, balloon, and ballot. The Middle Dutch form corresponding to Old English bolle was bolle, which was borrowed into English in the 13th century as boll, initially meaning ‘bubble’ but latterly ‘round seed-head’.The other bowl was originally simply a synonym for ball, but its modern specialized uses in the game of bowls, and the verbal usage ‘deliver the ball’ in cricket and other games, had already begun their development in the 15th century. The word came via Old French boule from Latin bulla ‘bubble’, which also lies behind English boil, bull (as in ‘papal bull’), bullion, bullet, bulletin, and bully (as in ‘bully beef’), as well, perhaps, as bill.=> ball, balloon, ballot; boil, bull, bullet, bulletin, bully
- bowl (n.)
- Old English bolla "pot, cup, bowl," from Proto-Germanic *bul- "a round vessel" (cognates: Old Norse bolle, Old High German bolla), from PIE *bhl-, from root *bhel- (2) "to blow, inflate, swell" (see bole).
- bowl (v.)
- "to roll a ball on the ground," typically as part of a game or contest, mid-15c., from bowl "wooden ball" (see bowls). Specifically of cricket from 1755; cricket use is source of late 19c. expressions bowl over, etc. Related: Bowled; bowling.
Example
- 1. Squeeze some ordinary washing up liquid into a bowl .
- 2. In one bowl combine all of the dry ingredients .
- 3. If a consumertalks bullshit on the ward , he goes over like a turd in a punch bowl .
- 4. 3 / 16 A bowl of live water beetles .
- 5. In a separate bowl combine all of the wet ingredients .