"B" Word Origins

balling

Origin

Formed from ball plus the -ing ending, originally describing anything shaped or wound into a ball.

ballista

Origin

Borrowed from Latin ballista, from Ancient Greek βαλλίστρα (ballístra), from βάλλω (bállō, “to throw”).

ballistic

Latin

From Latin ballista, an ancient siege weapon for hurling stones, plus the adjective ending -ic.

ballistical

Origin

From ballistic + -al.

ballistics

Origin

Built from ballista (a stone-throwing siege engine) plus the -ics ending used for fields of study.

balloon

Germanic

From Italian pallone, "large ball," ultimately from the same Germanic root as English "ball."

ballot

Italian

From Italian ballotta, "little ball" — small balls were once dropped into a container to register votes in secret.

balloter

Origin

From ballot + -er.

ballpark

Origin · 1900

Originally just the stadium where baseball is played; the "rough estimate" sense grew from the phrase "ballpark figure" in the mid-20th century.

ballpoint

Origin

From ball + point.

ballroom

Origin

A straightforward compound of "ball" (a formal dance) and "room."

ballsucker

Origin

From ball + sucker.

ballsy

Origin

Formed from "balls" (courage) plus the adjective ending -y.

bally

Origin

A softened alteration of "bloody," used to swear without actually swearing.

ballyhoo

Origin

A shortening of the Irish village Ballyhooly, known for its rowdiness.

balm

Latin

From Old French basme, tracing back to Latin balsamum and ultimately Greek balsamon, referring to fragrant plant resin.

balmy

Origin

From "balm" plus -y, originally describing air as soft and fragrant as balm; the "crazy" sense developed separately in British slang.

baloney

Italian · 1900

A playful respelling of "bologna," the Italian sausage; the "nonsense" meaning grew from American slang in the early 20th century.

balsamic

Origin

From "balsam" plus the adjective ending -ic.

balsamy

Origin

From balsam + -y. Doublet of balsamic and balmy.

Balthazar

Latin

From the Hebrew name meaning roughly 'may Bel protect the king,' passed down through Greek and Latin into English as one of the Magi's traditional names.

Baltic

Latin

From Latin Balticus, referring to peoples living near the Baltic Sea; the exact root of the name is debated.

Baltimore

Origin

Named after Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, first Proprietary Governor of Maryland.

balustrade

French

From French balustrade, from Italian balaustro 'baluster', ultimately from Greek balaustion 'pomegranate flower', which the swelling shape of the posts resembles.

bam

Origin

An onomatopoeic word imitating a sudden, sharp sound.

Bama

Origin

Clipping of Alabama.

Bambi

Italian · 1942

Popularized by the 1942 Disney film "Bambi"; the name itself comes from Italian bambina, "young girl."

bambino

Italian

Borrowed directly from Italian bambino, "baby boy."

bamboo

Dutch

Traced through Dutch and Portuguese back to a Kannada word, ultimately from a Dravidian root referring to the neem or similar tree.

bamboozle

Origin

Derivative of 17th-century vernacular bam (“to trick, to con”), which is a derivative of bam in noun use (fraudster, cheat). Possibly from French embobiner.

bamboozler

Origin

From bamboozle + -er.

ban

Old English

From Old English bannan, "to summon or proclaim," and Old Norse banna, "to curse or forbid" — both from a Germanic root meaning to proclaim or curse.

banal

French

From French banal, originally describing something "held in common" under feudal service, later shifting to mean "unoriginal" or "commonplace."

banality

French

From French banalité, built from banal plus the noun ending -ity.

banana

Spanish

Borrowed via Portuguese and Spanish from a West African language, possibly Wolof; the exact origin is debated.

banana republic

English

From banana and republic, originally describing small Central American states whose economies and politics were dominated by foreign-owned fruit companies.

banausic

Origin

From Ancient Greek βαναυσικός (banausikós, “of or for mechanics”), from βάναυσος (bánausos, “mechanical; ironsmith”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, suffix forming relational adjectives). βάναυσος is derived from βαύνος (baúnos, “forge, furnace”), a Pre-Greek word of unknown origin.

banc

Origin

From Middle English bank, from Old French banc. Doublet of banco, bank, and bench.

bancassurance

Origin

Borrowed from French bancassurance.

banco

Latin

From the Latin phrase in banco, "on the bench," referring to a full panel of judges.

Bancroft

Old English

From Old English bean ("bean") and croft ("small enclosed field") — literally "bean field."

band

Old French

From Old English bend and reinforced by Old French bande, both descending from a Proto-Germanic word for "binding" — related to "bind" and "bond."

bandage

French

Borrowed from French bandage, itself formed from bande ("band, strip").

bandana

Sanskrit

From Hindi bandhan, "a tying or binding," ultimately from a Sanskrit root meaning "to bind" — the same root that gives us "bind."

bandeau

Origin

Borrowed from French bandeau, from Old French bandel, diminutive form of bande. Doublet of bendel.

bandini

Origin

Blend of bandeau + bikini.

bandit

Italian

From Italian bandito ("outlawed, banished"), ultimately from the same root as ban — someone officially cast out was branded an outlaw and, in practice, often turned to robbery.

bandito

Origin

Borrowed from Italian bandito. Doublet of bandit.