bole

n.

Pe pl. bolleʒ; WA pl. bolis, boles

'tree trunk' (Modern English bole)

Etymology

cp. OIcel bolr, bulr ‘tree trunk; torso’ and (remoter in sense) MHG, MLG bole, MDu bolle ‘plank’. The likelihood of ON derivation depends on whether late OE bol at Med3 41.1 (glossed by DOE as ‘bole, stem of a plant’, and described by VEPN as ‘apparently (but not certainly) referring to the stem of ivy’) is taken as an early Norse loan or a native cognate; possible occurrences in Glo. place-names may support the latter interpretation (see VEPN).

PGmc Ancestor

?*ƀol-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

bolr, bulr ‘tree trunk; torso’
(ONP bolr, bulr (sb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Far bulur, Icel bolur, Norw bul, Dan bul, Sw bål

OE Cognate

?bol 'stem'

Phonological and morphological markers

Summary category

BB2ac

Attestation

Attested once in late OE at Med3 41.1; widely, if not commonly, used by 15c. in ME (esp. in N/EM texts). Onomastic evidence in EPNE is mainly N/EM, but VEPN cites more widespread material (incl. Glo. and Ess.)

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 766; Pe 76; Cl 622; WA 2851, 4851, *4994, etc.

On the sense at 4851, which Skeat WA misidentifies, see DTP (4978n). DTP introduces a further instance at WA 4994 by emending treis to *bolis (restoring the alliteration of the line).

Bibliography

MED bōle (n.2) , OED bole (n.1) , HTOED , Dance bole, Bj. 205, de Vries bolr, bulr, Mag. bolur, Orel *Bulaz ~ *Bulō, DOE bol, EPNE *bola; bolr, VEPN bol; *bolled; *bolling