Etymograph

English

bellows

Bellows comes from Proto-West Germanic *balgi ‘belly’, from Proto-Germanic *balgiz ‘bag’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- ‘to swell’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰelǵʰ-1‘to swell’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰólǵʰis1reconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*balgiz1‘bag’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*balgi1‘belly’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150bielġ1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bely1
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500belwes1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1846bellows1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English bellows
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1846, – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens: “Why, who should J. B. mean by Joe, but…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰelǵʰ-Wiktionary, English bellows‘to swell’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰólǵʰisWiktionary, English bellowsreconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*balgizWiktionary, English bellows‘bag’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*balgiWiktionary, English bellows‘belly’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150bielġWiktionary, English bellows
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500belyWiktionary, English bellows
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500belwesWiktionary, English bellows
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1846bellowsWiktionary, English bellows. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1846, – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens: “Why, who should J. B. mean by Joe, but…”

The story

For the pronunciation /ˈbɛl.əs/, compare bodice, gallows.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- ‘to swell’

budget, fool, bloc, bolster, bulge, budge, folly, follies, follicle, billow, 14 more

through Middle English bely

belly

Today it means

noun A device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location. At its most simple terms a bellows is a container which is deformable in such a way as to alter its volume which has an outlet or outlets where one wishes to blow air.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bellows”. 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 *bʰelǵʰ- / bellows

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