bald

bald
\ \ [14] In Middle English times, bald was ballede, which suggests that it may have been a compound formed in Old English with the suffix -edecharacterized by, having’. It has been conjectured that the first element in the compound was Old English *ball-, meaning ‘white patch’ or ‘blaze’ on an animal’s head; this may be supported by isolated examples of the use of the adjective to mean (of a horse) ‘whitefaced’ from the 16th to the 18th centuries, and by the obsolete dialectal ball meaning both ‘white patch on the head’ and ‘white-faced horse’. This would have produced the Old English adjective *bællede or *beallede, which, from ‘having a white blaze’, progressed naturally in meaning to ‘hairless’.
\ \ The compounds piebald [16] and skewbald [17] are both based on bald: piebald means ‘having black and white patches like a magpie’, while skewbald may be based on Middle English skew(cloudy) skies’ or on Old French escushield’.
\ \ Cf.PIEBALD, SKEWBALD

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Bald — Bald, ein Umstandswort oder Adverbium, 1. Der Zeit, da es alle Mahl eine kurze Zeit bezeichnet, doch mit verschiedenen Nebenbegriffen. 1) In Ansehung der Zwischenzeit, für, in kurzer Zeit. Er wird bald sterben. Ich werde bald kommen. Kommen sie… …   Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart

  • Bald — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Detlef Bald (* 1941), deutscher Historiker, Politikwissenschaftler und Publizist Marion Bald, deutsche Biathletin Bald ist der Name folgender geografischer Objekte: Brasstown Bald, Berg in Georgia, USA… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Bald — (b[add]ld), a. [OE. balled, ballid, perh. the p. p. of ball to reduce to the roundness or smoothness of a ball, by removing hair. [root]85. But cf. W. bali whiteness in a horse s forehead.] 1. Destitute of the natural or common covering on the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bald — bald; bald·ing; bald·ish; bald·ly; bald·ness; bald·win; pie·bald·ly; pie·bald·ness; skew·bald; sky·bald; …   English syllables

  • bald — Adv. (Grundstufe) in kurzer Zeit Beispiele: Es ist Dezember, bald ist Weihnachten. Warte auf mich, ich bin bald zurück. bald Adv. (Grundstufe) fast sofort Synonym: schnell Beispiel: Sie hat bald begriffen, worum es ging. bald Adv. (Mittelstufe)… …   Extremes Deutsch

  • bald — [bo:ld US bo:ld] adj [Date: 1300 1400; Origin: Perhaps from ball white spot on an animal s head (13 16 centuries), probably from Welsh bal] 1.) having little or no hair on your head ▪ a bald man ▪ his shiny bald head ▪ Dad started going bald when …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • bald — [ bɔld ] adjective * 1. ) with little or no hair on your head: a bald spot on the top of his head go bald (=lose your hair): I started going bald in my twenties. 2. ) a bald tire is no longer safe to use because its surface is worn smooth 3. ) a… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • bald´ly — bald «bld», adjective. 1. wholly or partly without hair on the head: »The old man s bald head glistened in the sun. SYNONYM(S): hairless, glabrous. 2. without its natural covering: »A mountaintop with no trees or grass on it is bald. SYNONYM(S):… …   Useful english dictionary

  • bald — [bôld] adj. [ME balled, assoc. with bal,BALL1, but prob. ult. < IE base * bhel , gleaming, white > Gr phalos, white, phalakros, bald, OPrus ballo, forehead] 1. having white fur or feathers on the head, as some animals and birds 2. having no …   English World dictionary

  • Bald! — was a fly on the wall documentary about baldness, broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom in April 2003. The show followed a number of men as they tried to hold back the advancement of hairloss, and the methods that they tried to cope with… …   Wikipedia

  • bald — Adv std. (9. Jh., baldlihho und beldi 8. Jh.), mhd. balde, ahd. baldo Stammwort. Adjektiv Adverb zu g. * balþa kühn , auch in gt. balþ , anord. ballr, ae. beald, as. bald, ahd. bald. Der Bedeutungsübergang geht über kühn, eifrig zu schnell und… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

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