billow
/ˈbɪl.oʊ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.12 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A large wave, swell, surge, or undulating mass of something, such as water, smoke, fabric or sound.
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "[…] Whom the winds waft where'er the billows roll, / From the world's girdle to the frozen pole;"
- "The snow fell hissing in the brine, / And the billows frothed like yeast."
- "But at that moment he is sprung upon by a panther billow leaping over the bulwarks. Wave after wave thus leaps into the ship […]"
- "The banners outflame the blazing morn, / O'er billows of bayonet, sword, and spear."
- "And the brooklet has found the billow / Though they flowed so far apart."
- "1893 August, Rudyard Kipling, "Seal Lullaby", in "The White Seal", National Review. Where billow meets billow, there soft be thy pillow; / Ah, weary wee flipperling, curl at thy ease!"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *belganą Proto-Germanic *bulgijō Old Norse bylgjabor. Middle English *bilwe English billow 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”); Swedish bölja (“wave”); German Low German Bulge, Bulg, Bülg (“billow, wave”); German Bulge (“billow, wave”). Compare bellow, bawl.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *bʰelǵʰ-, *bilwe, bylgja, *bulgijō
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbɪl.oʊ/
- British English: /ˈbɪl.əʊ/