bolster

== English == === Alternative forms === boulster bowster, bouster, boster (Scotland) === Etymology === From Middle English bolster, bolstre, from Old English bolster (“pillow”), from Proto-West Germanic *bolstr, from Proto-Germanic *bulstraz (“pillow, cushion”). Cognate with Scots bowster (“bolster”), West Frisian bulster (“mattress”), Dutch bolster (“husk, shell”), German Polster (“bolster, pillow, pad”), Swedish bolster (“soft mattress, bolster”), Icelandic bólstur (“pillow”). === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /ˈbɒlstə/, /ˈbəʊlstə/; [ˈbɒʊlstə] (US) IPA(key): /ˈboʊlstɚ/ === Noun === bolster (plural bolsters) A large cushion or pillow, usually cylindrical in shape. Synonyms: Dutch wife, hotdog pillow A pad, quilt, or anything used to hinder pressure, support part of the body, or make a bandage sit easy upon a wounded part; a compress. (vehicles, agriculture) A small spacer located on top of the axle of horse-drawn wagons that gives the front wheels enough clearance to turn. A short, horizontal structural timber between a post and a beam for enlarging the bearing area of the post and/or reducing the span of the beam. Synonyms: crosshead, pillow A beam in the middle of a railway truck, supporting the body of the car. The perforated plate in a punching machine on which anything rests when being punched. The part of a knife blade that abuts upon the end of the handle. The metallic end of a pocketknife handle. (architecture) The rolls forming the ends or sides of the Ionic capital. (military, historical) A block of wood on the carriage of a siege gun, upon which the breech of the gun rests when arranged for transportation. (figurative) That which supports or promotes; a catalyst. A wide-bladed cold chisel designed to split and shape bricks. ==== Derived terms ==== bolsterless bolster wagon bogie bolster wagon ==== Translations ==== === Verb === bolster (third-person singular simple present bolsters, present participle bolstering, simple past and past participle bolstered) (transitive, often figurative) To brace, reinforce, secure, or support. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Anagrams === trobles, lobster, Strobel, Bortles, rebolts, bolters, orblets, Bolters, reblots, Stroble == Dutch == === Etymology === From Middle Dutch bolster, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *bulstraz. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈbɔl.stər/ Hyphenation: bol‧ster Rhymes: -ɔlstər === Noun === bolster m (plural bolsters, diminutive bolstertje n) a bur, a spiny cupule, often of a chestnut ==== Derived terms ==== bolsteren ontbolsteren == Middle English == === Alternative forms === bolstre, bolstere, bowstur (northern) === Etymology === From Old English bolster, from Proto-Germanic *bulstraz. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈbɔlstər/ === Noun === bolster (plural bolsters) A soft stuffed bag to lie or lean on; a cushion or pillow. (rare) A pad; a piece of cushioning. (rare) A supporting piece of metal. ==== Descendants ==== English: bolster Scots: bowster, bouster, boster ==== References ==== “bolster, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 14 September 2019. == Norwegian Nynorsk == === Alternative forms === bånster n, bonster m (Trøndelag) === Etymology === Inherited from Old Norse bólstr, from Proto-Germanic *bulstraz m. === Noun === bolster n (definite singular bolsteret, indefinite plural bolster, definite plural bolstera) a mattress == Old English == === Etymology === From Proto-Germanic *bulstraz. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈbol.ster/, [ˈboɫ.ster] === Noun === bolster m pillow, cushion ==== Declension ==== Strong a-stem: ==== Synonyms ==== pyle wangere ==== Derived terms ==== bedbolster hēafodbolster hlēorbolster ==== Descendants ==== Middle English: bolster, bolstre, bolstere, bowsturEnglish: bolsterScots: bowster, bouster, boster == Swedish == === Etymology === From Old Swedish bulster, bolster, from Old Norse bólstr, bulstr, from Proto-Germanic *bulstraz m, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- (“bag, pillow, paunch”). === Noun === bolster n a bolster (a large cushion or pillow) ==== Declension ==== === Further reading === bolster in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL) bolster in Svensk ordbok (SO) bolster in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB) bolster in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922) bulster in Knut Fredrik Söderwall, Ordbok öfver svenska medeltids-språket, del 1: A-L