Link Centre Dictionary

boulder

boul·der

UK/ˈbəʊl.də(ɹ)/ US/ˈboʊl.dɚ/ fairly common

noun

1.

a large smooth mass of rock detached from its place of origin

Synonyms
2.

a town in north central Colorado; Rocky Mountains resort center and university town

Origin

From late Middle English bulder, short for Middle English bulder ston (“a stone that's been worn into a round shape, boulder, cobblestone”), possibly from Old Swedish *buldersten, itself possibly from Old Swedish bulder (“rumble, noise”) + sten (“stone”); whence dialectal Swedish bullersten (“large stone in a stream, causing water to roar around it”). The first element may alternatively be allied to Old Swedish bulle, bolle (“round drinking vessel, tumbler”), from Old Norse bolli, related to Old English bolla (“round object, bowl”), see English bowl.

Phrases

  • boulder clay
  • boulder holder
  • boulder opal
  • over-the-shoulder boulder holder

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.