billow

Meaning

Noun

A large wave, swell, surge, or undulating mass of something, such as water, smoke, fabric or sound

Verb

1. To surge or roll in billows.
2. To swell out or bulge.

Synonyms

wave

👋

surge

swell

ripple

roller

inflate

belly

distend

bloat

balloon

🎈

heave

rise

breaker

large wave

bulge

bubble

go up

lift

ascend

protrude

uprise

undulate

wallow

soar

flutter

climb

fill out

expand

enter

float

dominate

curve

pop

curl

break

amount

come up

cluster

board

increase

clump

hover

jaw

heighten

mount

pad

cloud

☁️

blow up

protuberate

hang

Translations

oleada

👋

Woge

golfslag

vaga

👋

fluctus

👋

wogen

onda

👋

vagalhão

flot

κύμα

unda

👋

Welle

👋

ondular

Schwaden

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbɪləʊ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: *bilowe

Cognate with Danish: bølge

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål: bølge

Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk: bylgje

Cognate with Middle High German: bulga

Cognate with Low German: bulge

In summary

From Middle English *bilowe, *bilewe, *bilwe, *bilȝe, borrowed from Old Norse bylgja, from Proto-Germanic *bulgijō. Cognates include Danish bølge (“wave”), Norwegian Bokmål bølge (“wave”), Norwegian Nynorsk bylgje (“wave”), German Low German Bulge, Bulg, Bülg (“billow, wave”), German Bulge (“billow, wave”).