bold
/boʊld/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.26 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
adj
adj
Having thicker strokes than the ordinary form of the typeface.
adj
Presumptuous, forward or impudent.
adj
adj
Example Sentences
- "Bold deeds win admiration and, sometimes, medals."
- "Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part. Thus outraged, she showed herself to be a bold as well as a furious virago. Next day she found her way to their lodgings and tried to recover her ward by the hair of the head."
- "It would be extraordinarily bold of me to give it a try after seeing what has happened to you."
- "the painter's bold use of colour and outline"
- "Many bold fonts are available on this computer."
- "In HTML, wrapping text in and tags produces bold text."
Etymology
From Middle English bold, bolde, bald, beald, from Old English bald, beald (“bold, brave, confident, strong, of good courage, presumptuous, impudent”), from Proto-West Germanic *balþ, from Proto-Germanic *balþaz (“strong, bold”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-, *bʰlē- (“to bloat, swell, bubble”). Cognate with Dutch boud (“bold, courageous, fearless”), Middle High German balt (“bold”) (whence German bald (“soon”)), Swedish båld (“bold, dauntless”). Perhaps related to Albanian ballë (“forehead”) and Old Prussian balo (“forehead”). Compare typologically Italian affrontare (“to face, to deal with”), sfrontato (“bold, daring, insolent”), both from Latin frons (“forehead”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /boʊld/
- British English: /ˈbəʊld/
Usage
Inflected Forms
bolder (comparative)
more bold (comparative)
boldest (superlative)
most bold (superlative)
bolds (present, singular)
bolding (participle, present)
bolded (participle, past)
bolded (past)
bolds (plural)
bolde (alternative)
boolde (alternative)