"B" Word Origins

bowler

Origin

The hat sense comes from the London hat-making firm Bowler; the sport sense is simply "bowl" plus the agent suffix "-er."

Bowles

Origin

A variant of Bowell with a post-medieval added -s.

bowlful

Origin

From bowl + -ful.

bowman

Middle English

From Middle English "boweman," a straightforward compound of "bow" and "man."

box

Ancient Greek

Traces back through Old English "box" and Late Latin "buxis" to Ancient Greek "pyxis," a small container originally made of boxwood.

boxcar

Origin

A straightforward compound of "box" and "car," describing a railway car shaped like a box.

boxer

German

From German "Boxer," from "boxen" ("to box, to strike with the fists") plus the agent suffix "-er."

boxful

Origin

From box + -ful.

boxing

Origin

From "box" (to punch) plus the "-ing" suffix that forms the name of an activity.

boxwood

Origin

From box + wood; box from Latin buxus (“box-tree, object made of boxwood”), of uncertain origin; compare Ancient Greek πύξος (púxos).

boy

Middle English

From Middle English "boy" (servant, young man), traced back to a Germanic root referring to a younger brother or male relation.

boyar

Russian

From Russian "boyare," the plural of "boyarin," a term for a noble.

Boyce

Old French

From Old French bois, meaning "wood."

boycott

Origin · 1880

From the surname of Charles Boycott, an English land agent in Ireland who was shunned by his community in an organized protest in 1880.

Boyd

Scottish Gaelic

From Scottish Gaelic buidhe ("blond, fair"), or from the Isle of Bute in Scotland.

boyer

Dutch

From Dutch boeijer, named for the vessel's job laying buoys (boeijen) to mark channels.

boyfriend

Origin · 1800

A straightforward compound of "boy" and "friend," used since the 19th century for a male romantic partner.

boyhood

Origin

From "boy" plus the suffix "-hood," which denotes a state or period of life.

boyish

Origin

From "boy" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-ish."

Boylan

Irish

An Anglicized form of Irish Ó Baoighealláin, "descendant of Baoigheallán."

Boyle

Irish

Anglicized from Irish Ó Baoithghill, possibly from baoth ("vain, foolish") and geall ("pledge").

Boynton

Old English

From an Old English personal name Bōfa plus -ing ("belonging to") plus tūn ("settlement").

boyo

Origin

From "boy" plus the informal suffix "-o," often used in casual forms of address.

bozo

Origin · 1900

First recorded in early 20th-century American English; its exact origin is uncertain, though it predates the clown character "Bozo."

Br

Origin

From the ISO country-code style abbreviation for Belarus.

bra

Latin

A shortened form of "brassiere," borrowed from French, ultimately from Latin "bracchium" ("arm").

brace

Latin

From Old French "brace" ("arm"), from Latin "bracchia," the plural of "bracchium" ("arm").

braced

Origin

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

bracelet

Old French

From Old French "bracelet," a diminutive of "bras" ("arm").

bracing

Origin

Formed from brace (to support or strengthen) plus the ending -ing.

brack

Dutch

From Middle Dutch brac, the same root that gives English "brackish."

bracken

Middle English

From Middle English braken, likely of Old Norse origin, related to a root meaning "to break" — probably describing how the fronds snap.

bracket

Latin

From an older word for the fly-opening on a pair of breeches, ultimately from Latin braca ("trousers") — the shape of the punctuation mark was compared to that opening.

brackish

Origin

From Scottish brack (from Middle Dutch brac (“brackish”)) + -ish. Cognate with Dutch brak (“brackish”), German Low German brack, brakerg, brakig (“brackish”), German brackig (“brackish”), Danish brak (“brackish”), Swedish bräck (“brackish”), Norwegian brakk (“brackish”). Perhaps a distant doublet of brook.

Bracknell

Origin · 942

First recorded in AD 942 as Braccan heal, perhaps meaning "nook of land belonging to a man called Bracca."

brad

Middle English

From late Middle English brad, related to Old Norse broddr ("spike, shaft").

Bradbury

Old English

The banknote sense comes from Sir John Bradbury, the Treasury official whose signature featured on the wartime notes; the surname itself derives from Old English words meaning "broad fortified place."

Braden

Irish

Anglicized from the Irish surname Ó Bradáin, "descendant of Bradán," a personal name meaning "salmon."

Bradfield

Old English

From Old English brād ("broad") plus feld ("field").

Bradford

Old English

The place name comes from Old English brād ("broad") plus ford, describing a wide river crossing.

Bradley

Old English

From Old English brād ("broad") plus lēah ("woodland").

bradly

Origin

Spelling variant of Bradley.

Bradshaw

Old English

The place name comes from Old English brād ("broad") plus sceaga ("thicket"), giving "broad thicket"; the famous railway guide was named after its publisher, George Bradshaw.

Brady

Old English

From Old English brād (“broad”) + ēage (“eye”) and brād (“broad”) + ēġ (“island”); or from Irish Ó Brádaigh.

bradycardia

Origin

From Ancient Greek βραδύς (bradús, “slow”) + καρδία (kardía, “heart”), equivalent to brady- + -cardia.

braeden

Origin

A variant spelling of Braden.

brag

Middle English

From Middle English braggen ("to speak boastfully"), of uncertain origin, possibly linked to an Old Norse word meaning "best" or "foremost."

Braga

Latin

From Latin Bracara Augusta, named after a Celtic tribe called the Bracari.