bolster

See also: Bolster

English

A bolster on a bed.

Alternative forms

• boulster
• bowster, bouster, boster (Scotland)

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From Middle English bolster, bolstre, from Old English bolster (“pillow”), from Proto-Germanic *bulstraz, *bulstrą (“pillow, cushion”). Cognate with Scots bowster (“bolster”), West Frisian bulster (“mattress”), Dutch bolster (“husk, shell”), German Polster (“bolster, pillow, pad”), Swedish bolster (“soft mattress, bolster”), Icelandic bólstur (“pillow”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbəʊlstə/
• IPA^(key): /ˈboʊlstɚ/

Noun

Bolster or pillow (structural) (geograph.org.uk - 325191)

bolster (plural bolsters)

1. A large cushion or pillow.
   • 1590–92, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, act 4, scene 1:

     And here I'll fling the pillow, there the bolster,
     This way the coverlet, another way the sheets.

2. A pad, quilt, or anything used to hinder pressure, support part of the body, or make a bandage sit easy upon a wounded part; a compress.
   • John Gay

     This arm shall be a bolster for thy head.

3. (vehicles, agriculture) A small spacer located on top of the axle of horse-drawn wagons that gives the front wheels enough clearance to turn.
4. A short, horizontal structural timber between a post and a beam for enlarging the bearing area of the post and/or reducing the span of the beam.

   Synonyms: cross-head, pillow

5. A beam in the middle of a railway truck, supporting the body of the car.
6. The perforated plate in a punching machine on which anything rests when being punched.
7. The part of a knife blade that abuts upon the end of the handle.
8. The metallic end of a pocketknife handle.
9. (architecture) The rolls forming the ends or sides of the Ionic capital.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of G. Francis to this entry?)

10. (military, historical) A block of wood on the carriage of a siege gun, upon which the breech of the gun rests when arranged for transportation.

Synonyms

• Dutch wife

Translations

a large cushion or pillow

• Brunei Malay: bantal paluk
• Bulgarian: възглавница f (vǎzglavnica)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 靠枕 (zh), 墊枕／垫枕

• Czech: podhlavník
• Danish: bolster
• Finnish: tyyny (fi)
• French: traversin (fr) m
• Galician: traveseiro m
• Gallurese: capitzali
• Georgian: მუთაქა (mutaka)
• German: Polster (de), n, in Austria m
• Greek: μαξιλάρα (el) f (maxilára)
• Hungarian: vánkos (hu), hengerpárna, nagypárna, párna (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Indonesian: guling (id), bantal guling (id)
• Irish: adhairt f, ceannadhairt f
• Italian: capezzale (it) m
• Latin: cervīcal n
• Persian: متکا (fa) (motakâ)
• Portuguese: cabeceira (pt) f
• Russian: поду́шка (ru) f (podúška), ва́лик (ru) m (válik)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: cabetzèra, cabitzali

• Sassarese: cabitzari
• Spanish: cabecera (es), almohada (es)
• Swedish: bolster (sv)
• Telugu: దిండు (te) (diṇḍu)
• Walloon: tchefsî (wa) m

a short, horizontal, structural timber between a post and a beam

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

the perforated plate in a punching machine on which anything rests when being punched

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

the part of a knife blade that abuts upon the end of the handle

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

the metallic end of a pocketknife handle

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

(architecture) the rolls forming the ends or sides of the Ionic capital

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Verb

bolster (third-person singular simple present bolsters, present participle bolstering, simple past and past participle bolstered)

1. (transitive, often figurative) To brace, reinforce, secure, or support.
   • 2017 January 20, Annie Zaleski, “AFI sounds refreshed and rejuvenated on its 10th album, AFI (The Blood Album)”, in The Onion AV Club‎^[1]:

     Puget also teamed up with Matt Hyde (Deftones, Slayer) to co-produce the record, which was another smart move: Together, the pair ensures that AFI (The Blood Album)‘s arrangements are streamlined, but bolstered by just the right amount of atmospheric texture.

   • 2019 October, Philip Sherratt, “Midland Main Line upgrade presses on”, in Modern Railways, page 62:

     However, once the bi-modes come on stream this [the power supply] will need to be bolstered by a feed at Braybrooke, just south of Market Harborough, for which reason the Department for Transport has supported the extension of overhead electrification from Kettering to Market Harborough.

Translations

to brace, reinforce, secure, or support

• Bulgarian: подпирам (bg) (podpiram), поддържам (bg) (poddǎržam), крепя (bg) (krepja)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 加强 (zh) (jiāqiáng), 支持 (zh) (zhīchí), 巩固 (zh) (gǒnggù)

• Czech: posílit se
• Dutch: versterken (nl), veilig stellen, ondersteunen (nl)
• Finnish: tukea (fi), vahvistaa (fi)
• German: polstern (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: στυλώνω (el) (stylóno), υποστηρίζω (el) (ypostirízo)
• Italian: sostenere (it), supportare (it), appoggiare (it)
• Maori: whakamarohi, haukaha, whakatete
• Portuguese: apoiar (pt)
• Russian: подпира́ть (ru) (podpirátʹ), подде́рживать (ru) (poddérživatʹ), крепи́ть (ru) (krepítʹ)
• Swedish: stödja (sv)

Anagrams

• Bortles, Strobel, Stroble, bolters, lobster, reblots, rebolts, trobles

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Dutch

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From Middle Dutch bolster, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *bulstraz. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɔl.stər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bol‧ster
• Rhymes: -ɔlstər

Noun

bolster m (plural bolsters, diminutive bolstertje n)

1. a bur, a spiny cupule, often of a chestnut

Derived terms

• bolsteren

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• bolstre, bolstere
• bowstur (northern; see there for Scots descendants)

Etymology

From Old English bolster, from Proto-Germanic *bulstraz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɔlstər/

Noun

bolster (plural bolsters)

1. A soft stuffed bag to lie or lean on; a cushion or pillow.
2. (rare) A pad; a piece of cushioning.
3. (rare) A supporting piece of metal.

Descendants

• English: bolster

References

• “bolster, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-09-14.

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Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *bulstraz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbol.ster/, [ˈboɫ.ster]

Noun

bolster m

1. pillow

   Tō slāpenne iċ þearf simle hūru twēġa bolstra.

   I always need at least two pillows to sleep.

Declension

Declension of bolster (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	bolster	bolstras
accusative	bolster	bolstras
genitive	bolstres	bolstra
dative	bolstre	bolstrum

Synonyms

• pyle
• wangere

Derived terms

• bedbolster
• hēafodbolster
• hlēorbolster

Descendants

• Middle English: bolster, bolstre, bolstere
  • English: bolster
• Northern Middle English: bowstur
  • Scots: bowster, bouster, boster

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Swedish

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From Old Swedish bulster, bolster, from Old Norse bólstr, bulstr, from Proto-Germanic *bulstraz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- (“bag, pillow, paunch”). Compare Icelandic bólstur, Dutch bolster, German Polster and English bolster.

Noun

bolster n

1. a bolster, a large cushion or pillow

Declension

Declension of bolster
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	bolster	bolstret	bolster	bolstren
Genitive	bolsters	bolstrets	bolsters	bolstrens