billow

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English *bilwe, borrowed from Old Norse bylgja, from Proto-Germanic *bulgijō. Cognates include Danish bølge (“wave”), Norwegian Bokmål bølge (“wave”), Norwegian Nynorsk bylgje (“wave”), German Low German Bulge, Bulg, Bülg (“billow, wave”), German Bulge (“billow, wave”). === Pronunciation === Rhymes: -ɪləʊ (US, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈbɪloʊ/ (California, Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈbɪləʊ/ (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈbɪləʉ/ (Indic) IPA(key): /bɪl(ː)o/ (without gemination) Homophone: below === Noun === billow (plural billows) A large wave, swell, surge, or undulating mass of something, such as water, smoke, fabric or sound 1893 August, Rudyard Kipling, "Seal Lullaby", in "The White Seal", National Review. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Verb === billow (third-person singular simple present billows, present participle billowing, simple past and past participle billowed) To surge or roll in billows. To swell out or bulge. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === References ===