Bulge
/bʌldʒ/noun
A swelling or protuberance; to swell outward.
Did you know?Bulge is commonly traced to a Middle English word for a bag or swelling, and many scholars connect that form to the same ancient root behind *belly* and *bellows*—words built around the idea of something puffing out.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bhel-
“to swell, blow, or inflate”
Old English
OE
belig
“bag, pouch, belly-like swelling”
Middle English
ME
bulge
“a swelling, pouch, or protuberance”
16th Century
English
bulge
“to swell out or project”
Modern English
English
bulge
“a rounded swelling or an outward curve”