Bulb
/bʌlb/noun
A rounded underground storage organ in certain plants, or a rounded glass container for a light source.
Did you know?The word comes from Latin *bulbus*, which the Romans used for onion-like plants, and that same ancient root also gave English *bulge* and *pulpy* through the idea of swelling and roundness.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bhel-
“to swell, blow up, or be inflated”
Ancient Greek
Greek
βόλβος (bólbos)
“an onion, bulb, or round root”
Latin
Latin
bulbus
“a bulbous root, especially an onion”
Old French
Old French
bulbe
“a bulb or rounded swelling”
Late Middle English
English
bulb
“a bulbous root or rounded swelling”
Modern English
English
bulb
“a plant storage organ or a glass light bulb”