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Origin and history of bowl

bowl(n.1)

"round, low vessel to hold liquids or liquid food," Old English bolla "pot, cup, bowl," from Proto-Germanic *bul- "a round vessel" (source also of Old Norse bolle, Old High German bolla), from PIE root *bhel- (2) "to blow, swell." Formerly also "a large drinking cup," hence figurative use as an emblem of festivity or drunkenness. In reference to a football-stadium 1913, originally one that is bowl-shaped.

bowl(v.)

"to roll a ball on the ground," typically as part of a game or contest, mid-15c., from bowl "wooden ball" (see bowls). Specifically in cricket, "deliver the ball to be played by the batsman," from 1755; the use in cricket is the source of late 19c. figurative expressions such as bowl over "knock down" (1849). Related: Bowled; bowling.

bowl(n.2)

"sphere, globe, ball," c. 1400, from Old French boule "ball," from Latin bulla "round swelling, knob" (see bull (n.2)). Meaning "large, solid ball of hard wood used in the game of bowls" is from mid-15c.

also from c. 1400

Entries linking to bowl

bowling(n.)

1530s, "the act of playing at bowls," verbal noun from bowl (v.). Bowling-alley "a covered place for the playing of bowls, provided with a passage of smooth planks for the rolling of the balls," is from 1550s; bowling-green "level piece of greensward kept smooth for bowling" is from 1640s.

bowls(n.)

game played with balls, mid-15c. (implied in bowlyn), from gerund of bowl "wooden ball" (early 15c.), from Old French bole (13c., Modern French boule) "ball," ultimately from Latin bulla "bubble, knob, round thing" (see bull (n.2)).

Noon apprentice ... [shall] play ... at the Tenys, Closshe, Dise, Cardes, Bowles nor any other unlawfull game. [Act 11, Henry VII, 1495]
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More to explore

bull
"male of a bovine animal," c. 1200, bule, from Old Norse boli "bull, male of the domestic bovine," perhaps also from an Old English *bula, both from Proto-Germanic *bullon- (source also of Middle Dutch bulle, Dutch bul, German Bulle), perhaps from a Germanic verbal stem meaning "
bowler
"hard, round, low-crowned hat," 1861, said to be from a J. Bowler, 19c. London hat manufacturer. A John Bowler of Surrey, hat manufacturer, was active from the 1820s to the 1840s, and a William Bowler, hat-manufacturer, of Southwark Bridge Road, Surrey, sought a patent in 1854 fo
trough
Old English trog "wooden vessel, tray, hollow vessel, canoe," from Proto-Germanic *trugaz (source also of Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Old Norse trog, Middle Dutch troch, Dutch trog, Old High German troc, German trog), from PIE *dru-ko-, from root *deru- "be firm, solid, steadfast," w
scale
.); earlier still "drinking cup" (c. 1200), from Old Norse skal "bowl, drinking cup," in plural, "weighing scale."...Proto-Germanic *skæla "to split, divide" (source also of Old Norse skel "shell," Old English scealu, Old Saxon skala "a bowl...(to drink from)," Old High German scala, German Schale "a bowl, dish, cup," Middle Dutch scale, Dutch schaal "drinking cup..., bowl, shell, scale of a balance"), from PIE root *skel- (1) "to cut."...
skoal
also skol, Scandinavian toasting word expressing good wishes, c. 1600, from Danish skaal "a toast," literally "bowl, cup,..." from Old Norse skal "bowl, drinking vessel," originally a cup made from a shell, from Proto-Germanic *skelo (from PIE root...
crater
1610s, "bowl-shaped mouth of a volcano," from a specialized use of Latin crater, from Greek krater "large bowl from which...
spade
names even if homely or coarse" (1540s) translates a Greek proverb (known to Lucian), ten skaphen skaphen legein "to call a bowl...a bowl," but Erasmus mistook Greek skaphē "trough, bowl" for a derivative of the stem of skaptein "to dig," and the mistake...
vessel
c. 1300, "container," from Old French vessel "container, receptacle, barrel; ship" (12c., Modern French vaisseau) from Late Latin vascellum "small vase or urn," also "a ship," alteration of Latin vasculum, diminutive of vas "vessel." Sense of "ship, boat" is found in English from
cast
c. 1200, "throw, throw violently, fling, hurl," from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse kasta "to throw" (cognate with Swedish kasta, Danish kaste, North Frisian kastin), a word of uncertain origin. The meaning "to form in a mold" is late 15c. In the sense of "to throw" it r
wheel
Old English hweol, hweogol "wheel," from Proto-Germanic *hwewlaz (source also of Old Norse hvel, Old Swedish hiughl, Old Frisian hwel, Middle Dutch weel), from PIE *kw(e)-kwl-o- "wheel, circle," suffixed, reduplicated form of root *kwel- (1) "revolve, move round; sojourn, dwell."

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