bald
[ bawld ]
/ bɔld /
adjective
verb (used without object)
to become bald.
noun
(often initial capital letter) Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. a treeless mountaintop or area near the top: often used as part of a proper name.
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RELATED WORDS
naked, barren, bare, hairless, blunt, head, exposed, smooth, uncovered, shaven, depilated, plain, direct, stark, baldheaded, glabrous, austere, downright, forthright, outright
Nearby words
- balche,
- balcon,
- balconet,
- balconette,
- balcony,
- bald cypress,
- bald eagle,
- bald-faced,
- bald-faced hornet,
- baldachin
Origin of bald
1250–1300; Middle English ball(e)d, equivalent to ball white spot (compare Welsh bal, Greek phaliós having a white spot) + -ed -ed3
SYNONYMS FOR bald
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for bald
bald
/ (bɔːld) /
adjective
having no hair or fur, esp (of a man) having no hair on all or most of the scalp
lacking natural growth or covering
plain or blunta bald statement
bare or simple; unadorned
Also: baldfaced (of certain birds and other animals) having white markings on the head and face
(of a tyre) having a worn tread
Word Origin for bald
C14 ballede (literally: having a white spot); related to Danish bǣldet, Greek phalaros having a white spot
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
bald
c.1300, ballede, probably, with Middle English -ede adjectival suffix + Celtic bal "white patch, blaze" especially on the head of a horse or other animal (from PIE root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, gleam;" see bleach (v.)). Cf., from the same root, Sanskrit bhalam "brightness, forehead," Greek phalos "white," Latin fulcia "coot" (so called for the white patch on its head), Albanian bale "forehead." But connection with ball (n.1), on notion of "smooth, round" also has been suggested. Bald eagle first attested 1680s; so called for its white head.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
bald
[ bôld ]
adj.
Lacking hair on the head.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.