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bolster

noun
/ˈbɒlstə/UK/ˈboʊlstɚ/US

Etymology

From Middle English bolster, bolstre, from Old English bolster (“pillow”), from Proto-West Germanic *bolstr, from Proto-Germanic *bulstraz (“pillow, cushion”). Cognate with Scots bowster (“bolster”), West Frisian bulster (“mattress”), Dutch bolster (“husk, shell”), German Polster (“bolster, pillow, pad”), Swedish bolster (“soft mattress, bolster”), Icelandic bólstur (“pillow”).

  1. inherited from *bulstraz✻ — “pillow, cushion”
  2. inherited from *bolstr✻
  3. inherited from bolster — “pillow”
  4. inherited from bolster

Definitions

  1. A large cushion or pillow, usually cylindrical in shape.

    • And here I'll fling the pillow, there the bolster, / This way the coverlet, another way the sheets.

  2. A pad, quilt, or anything used to hinder pressure, support part of the body, or make a…

    A pad, quilt, or anything used to hinder pressure, support part of the body, or make a bandage sit easy upon a wounded part; a compress.

    • This Arm ſhall be a Bolſter for thy Head, / I'll fetch clean Straw to make my Soldier's Bed; / There, while thou ſleep'ſt, my Apron o'er thee hold, / Or with it patch thy Tent againſt the Cold.

  3. A small spacer located on top of the axle of horse-drawn wagons that gives the front…

    A small spacer located on top of the axle of horse-drawn wagons that gives the front wheels enough clearance to turn.

  4. ›+ 12 more definitions

    1. A short, horizontal structural timber between a post and a beam for enlarging the bearing…

      A short, horizontal structural timber between a post and a beam for enlarging the bearing area of the post and/or reducing the span of the beam.

    2. A beam in the middle of a railway truck, supporting the body of the car.

    3. The perforated plate in a punching machine on which anything rests when being punched.

    4. The part of a knife blade that abuts upon the end of the handle.

    5. The metallic end of a pocketknife handle.

    6. The rolls forming the ends or sides of the Ionic capital.

      • Its [the Ionic's column's] ancient capital is generally formed of two parallel bolsters

    7. A block of wood on the carriage of a siege gun, upon which the breech of the gun rests…

      A block of wood on the carriage of a siege gun, upon which the breech of the gun rests when arranged for transportation.

    8. That which supports or promotes

      That which supports or promotes; a catalyst.

      • My health too has been better since you took away that Montero cap. I have left off cayenned eggs and such bolsters to discomfort.

    9. A wide-bladed cold chisel designed to split and shape bricks.

    10. To brace, reinforce, secure, or support.

      • At the outbreak of the Second World War, the number of locomotives at the depot was bolstered by the loan of several tank engines from the GWR, usually fitted with the distinctive "balloon" spark arrestors.

    11. A surname from German.

    12. A ghost town in Okanogan County, Washington, United States.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for bolster. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA