ball
/bɔːl/
noun
Origin
Proto-Germanic
*balluz — a round object
Overview
Meaning Now
- A solid or hollow spherical object used in games or sports.
- A large formal social gathering for dancing.
Literal older meaning
a round object; a sphere
Language path
Proto-Germanic → Old French → Middle English → English
Earliest form
bal
Earliest period
13. yüzyıl
Journey
The word has a double origin: one sense (the object) comes from Germanic roots related to roundedness, while the other (the social dance) comes from the Old French 'baler' meaning 'to dance'.
Evolution
- Proto-Germanic
*balluz
“round object”
- Old French
bal
“dancing”
Influenced the noun sense of a formal dance.
- Middle English
bal
“spherical body”
Connections
Word parts
ball
root
round object
Related across languages
Old Norse
böllr
round object
German
ball
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Related to ball
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.