bolster

English

A bolster on a bed.

Alternative forms

• boulster
• bowster, bouster, boster (Scotland)

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English bolstre, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English bolster (“bolster, cushion”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *bulstraz, *bulstrą (“bolster”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- (“bag, pillow, paunch”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to swell, blow, inflate, burst”). Cognate with (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Scots bowster (“bolster”), (deprecated template usage) [etyl] West Frisian bulster (“mattress”), (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Dutch bolster (“husk, shell”), (deprecated template usage) [etyl] German Polster (“bolster, pillow, pad”), (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Swedish bolster (“soft mattress, bolster”), (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Icelandic bólstur (“pillow”).

Pronunciation

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) IPA^(key): /ˈbəʊlstə/

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 which give 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. Sometimes also called a pillow or cross-head (Australian English).
5. The perforated plate in a punching machine on which anything rests when being punched.
6. The part of a knife blade that abuts upon the end of the handle.
7. The metallic end of a pocketknife handle.
8. (architecture) The rolls forming the ends or sides of the Ionic capital.

   (Can we [[:Category:Requests for quotations/{{{2}}}|find and add]] a quotation of {{{2}}} to this entry?)

9. (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

• Bulgarian: възглавница f (vǎzglavnica)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 靠枕 (zh), 墊枕／垫枕 (zh)

• Czech: podhlavník
• Danish: bolster
• Finnish: tyyny (fi)
• French: traversin (fr) m
• Gallurese: capitzali
• Georgian: მუთაქა (mutaka)
• German: Polster (de), n, in Austria m
• Greek: μαξιλάρα (el) f (maxilára)
• Indonesian: guling (id), bantal guling (id)
• Irish: adhairt f, ceannadhairt f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: capezzale m
• Portuguese: cabeceira (pt) f
• Russian: поду́шка (ru) f (podúška), ва́лик (ru) m (válik)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: cabetzèra, cabitzali

• Sassarese: cabitzari
• Swedish: bolster (sv)
• Telugu: దిండు (te) (diṇḍu)
• Walloon: tchefsî (wa) m

Verb

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

1. To brace, reinforce, secure, or support.

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)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: στυλώνω (el) (stylóno), υποστηρίζω (el) (ypostirízo)
• Italian: sostenere (it), supportare (it), appoggiare (it)
• Maori: whakamarohi, haukaha
• Portuguese: apoiar (pt)
• Russian: подпира́ть (ru) (podpirátʹ), подде́рживать (ru) (poddérživatʹ), крепи́ть (ru) (krepítʹ)
• Swedish: stödja (sv)

Anagrams

• bolters, lobster, trobles

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Dutch

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From Proto-Germanic *bulstraz.

Pronunciation

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter)

  Audio:

  (file)

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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Swedish

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old Norse bólstr, bulstr, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *bulstraz. Compare Icelandic bólstur, Dutch bolster, German Polster, English bolster.

Noun

bolster n

1. a bolster, a large cushion or pillow

Declension

Declension of bolster

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	bolster	bolsters
	definite	bolstret	bolstrets
plural	indefinite	bolster	bolsters
	definite	bolstren	bolstrens