billow

Meanings

Noun

• A large wave, swell, surge, or undulating mass of something, such as water, smoke, fabric or sound

Verb

• To surge or roll in billows.
• To swell out or bulge.

Origin

• From Middle English *bilowe, *bilewe, *bilwe, *bilȝe, borrowed from Old Norse bylgja, from Proto-Germanic *bulgijō. Cognates include Danish bølge, Norwegian Bokmål bølge, Norwegian Nynorsk bylgje, Middle High German bulga and Low German bulge.