Bolus
/ˈboʊ.ləs/noun
A single rounded mass of food, medicine, or other substance swallowed or administered at once.
Did you know?In medical Latin, a bolus was a lump of medicine meant to be taken in one go, and the word ultimately traces back to a Greek term for a thrown clod or lump of earth.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bhel-
“To swell, blow, or be thick/rounded”
Ancient Greek
Greek
βῶλος (bôlos)
“A lump, clod, or chunk of earth”
Latin
Latin
bolus
“A lump or dose of medicine”
Middle English
English
bolus
“A medicinal mass or lump swallowed at once”
Modern English
English
bolus
“A single rounded mass of food, medicine, or other substance swallowed or administered at once”