Bold
/boʊld/noun
Confident, brave, or daring; also used for thick or heavy type.
Did you know?The oldest sense of bold in English was physical strength and firmness, and only later did it shift into the psychological idea of fearless behavior.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*baldaz
“bold, brave, strong”
Old English
OE
beald
“bold, brave, confident”
Late Old English
OE
bald
“bold, impudent, daring”
Middle English
ME
bold
“bold, courageous, presumptuous”
Modern English
English
bold
“confident, brave, or daring; also thick and prominent in appearance”