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Added 10 October 2026

billow

/ˈbɪl.oʊ/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about billow at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A large sea wave.

verb

Rise up as if in waves.
smoke billowed up into the sky
Move with great difficulty.
The soldiers billowed across the muddy riverbed
Rise and move, as in waves or billows.
The army surged forward

Origin

From Middle English *bilwe, borrowed from Old Norse bylgja, from Proto-Germanic *bulgijō. Cognates include Danish bølge (“wave”); Norwegian Bokmål bølge (“wave”), Norwegian Nynorsk bylgje (“wave”); Swedish bölja (“wave”); German Low German Bulge, Bulg, Bülg (“billow, wave”); German Bulge (“billow, wave”). Compare bellow, bawl.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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