bola

[boh-luh]

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noun, plural bo·las [boh-luh z] /ˈboʊ ləz/.

Also bolas. a weapon consisting of two or more heavy balls secured to the ends of one or more strong cords, hurled by the Indians and gauchos of southern South America to entangle the legs of cattle and other animals.

bolo tie.

Origin of bola

1835–45; < Spanish: ball < Old Provençal < Latin bulla bubble, knob; see boil¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for bola

blade, knife, sickle, rope, snare, halter, bolo

Examples from the Web for bola

Historical Examples of bola

Bola, and in the box on our right a man and a woman who had not taken off their masks.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete
Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
Because, so far as is known to me, no other Chaco Indians but they use the bola perdida.
Gaspar the Gaucho
Mayne Reid
But to the bola there is no cord attached, nor mark of where one has ever been.
Gaspar the Gaucho
Mayne Reid
Son of Mem Loimis, you will be a bola heris; you will be a great gambler.
Creation Myths of Primitive America
Jeremiah Curtin
It is also suggested that the name is derived from bola (anklets), as the women wear heavy brass anklets.
Castes and Tribes of Southern India
Edgar Thurston

British Dictionary definitions for bola

bola

bolas (ˈbəʊləs)

noun plural -las or -lases

a missile used by gauchos and Indians of South America, consisting of two or more heavy balls on a cord. It is hurled at a running quarry, such as an ox or rhea, so as to entangle its legs

Word Origin for bola

Spanish: ball, from Latin bulla knob

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