Bilge
/bɪldʒ/noun
The lowest part of a ship’s hull where water and waste collect; also, nonsense or rubbish.
Did you know?The word likely comes from a nautical term for the ship’s rounded “belly,” and its insult sense grew from the idea of something worthless or dirty at the bottom.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bhel-
“to swell, blow up, or inflate”
Old English
OE
belg
“bag, bellows, skin, or swelling sack”
Middle English
ME
bilge
“the bulging part of a ship’s hull”
17th Century
English
bilge
“the lowest internal part of a ship where water collects”
18th Century
English
bilge
“nonsense, worthless talk”