Etymograph

English

bouillon

Bouillon comes from French bouillon ‘broth’, from bouillir ‘to boil’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bew- ‘swelling’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bew-1‘swelling’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbulla2‘bubble’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbullīre2‘to bubble, boil’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400boillir2
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600bouillir3
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentbouillir2‘to boil’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentbouillon2‘broth’
  8. Englishtodaybouillon2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin bulla
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English bouillon
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French bouillir

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bew-Wiktionary, Latin bulla‘swelling’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbullaWiktionary, English bouillon‘bubble’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbullīreWiktionary, English bouillon‘to bubble, boil’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400boillirWiktionary, English bouillon
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600bouillirWiktionary, French bouillir
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentbouillirWiktionary, English bouillon‘to boil’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentbouillonWiktionary, English bouillon‘broth’
  8. EnglishtodaybouillonWiktionary, English bouillon

first attested First attested 1656, from French bouillon, from the verb bouillir (“to boil”), from Old French boillir, from Latin bullīre (“to bubble, boil”), from bulla (“bubble”) (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested 1656, from French bouillon, from the verb bouillir (‘to boil’), from Old French boillir, from Latin bullīre (‘to bubble, boil’), from bulla (‘bubble’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bew- ‘swelling’

pick, pocket, pose, purse, bulletin, buckle, pique, pout, billet, picot, pock, bulla, 16 more

through Latin bulla ‘bubble’

bill, bowl, bull, budge, bola, bolero, 15 more

through Old French boillir

boil, 2 more

Today it means

noun A clear seasoned broth made by simmering usually light meat, such as beef or chicken.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bouillon”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin bulla, French bouillir. 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 *bew- / bouillon

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