Etymograph

English

bald

Bald may come from Old English bæl ‘funeral pyre, bonfire’, from Proto-Germanic *bēlą ‘fire’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to sound’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-1‘to sound’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰḗlH-o-m1uncertain
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bēlą1‘fire’uncertain
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bāl1uncertain
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150bæl1‘funeral pyre, bonfire’uncertain
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500balled1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1891bald1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English bald
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1891, The Australian law times - Volumes 12-13: “The plaintiff in this case must satisfy the judge…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-Wiktionary, English bald‘to sound’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰḗlH-o-mWiktionary, English balduncertain
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bēląWiktionary, English bald‘fire’uncertain
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bālWiktionary, English balduncertain
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150bælWiktionary, English bald‘funeral pyre, bonfire’uncertain
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500balledWiktionary, English bald
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1891baldWiktionary, English bald. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1891, The Australian law times - Volumes 12-13: “The plaintiff in this case must satisfy the judge…”

The story

From Middle English balled, ballid, bald (‘bald’), of uncertain origin.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. Probably formed from Middle English bal, balle (‘ball, round object, knoll, head’). An alternate etymology relates it to Old English bǣl (‘fire, flame; funeral pyre’), from Proto-Germanic *bēlą.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to sound’

bowl, bell, bull, ball, flame, bold, boil, blaze, blush, blur, blizzard, bleach, bolster, budge, sabha, blemish, bola, phlegm, bolero, blithe, phlox, blain, phallus, bleat, baleen, 71 more

through Old English bæl ‘funeral pyre, bonfire’

bale

Today it means

adj Having little or no hair, fur, or feathers.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bald”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- / bald

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