bollo

See also: bollò

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈbo.ʎu]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [ˈbo.ʎo]

Verb

bollo

1. first-person singular present indicative of bollar

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbol.lo/
• Rhymes: -ollo
• Hyphenation: ból‧lo

Etymology 1

From Latin bulla. Compare Sicilian buḍḍu.

Noun

bollo m (plural bolli)

1. stamp
2. seal
3. brand
4. ellipsis of bollo auto

Derived terms

• bollo postale (“postmark”)
• francobollo (“stamp”)

Etymology 2

Deverbal from bollire +‎ -o.

Noun

bollo m (plural bolli)

1. (regional, North Italian) boil, boiling

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

bollo

1. first-person singular present indicative of bollare

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

bollo

1. first-person singular present indicative of bollire

Old Galician-Portuguese

Etymology

Unknown, but traditionally associated with bola (“round seal”).

Noun

bollo m (plural *bollos)

1. bunch; heap (unshaped piece or mass). The meaning of this term is uncertain.
   • 1420, chapter III, in Álvaro Eans das Eiras, transl., Tratado de Albeitaria, translation of De Medicina Equorum by Giordano Ruffo, page 121:

     Reeras primeiramente os llonbos ou as rrens do Cauallo, depois faras pedamaço desta gisa, rreteras o pez, estendello as en pelle que posa cubrir os llonbos et as rreens dancho et de llongo, et depois fillaras duas ditas dramas de bollo armenico et do armonico et do pez grego et do galbano et do ençenço branco et dalmeçega et do sange do dagron et de agalla et de todas estas fillaras jgualmente tanto de huun como doutro et faras ende poo, et deste poo deitaras sobre llo pez da pelle, et seia o pez caente […]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Descendants

• Fala: bolu
• Galician: bolo
• Portuguese: bolo (see there for further descendants)

References

• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “bollo”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin bulla.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈboʝo/ [ˈbo.ʝo]

• IPA^(key): /ˈboʝo/ [ˈbo.ʝo] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Latin America and Spain)
• IPA^(key): /ˈboʎo/ [ˈbo.ʎo] (Andes Mountains, rustic northern Spain, Paraguay, Philippines)
• IPA^(key): /ˈboʃo/ [ˈbo.ʃo] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /ˈboʒo/ [ˈbo.ʒo] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

 

• Rhymes: -oʝo

• Rhymes: -oʝo (Equatorial Guinea, most of Latin America and Spain)
• Rhymes: -oʎo (Andes Mountains, rustic northern Spain, Paraguay, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -oʃo (Buenos Aires and environs)
• Rhymes: -oʒo (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

• Syllabification: bo‧llo

Noun

bollo m (plural bollos)

1. bun
2. (in clothing) puff, tuft
3. bump on the head

   Synonym: chichón

4. (colloquial) confusion, chaos

   Synonyms: confusión, alboroto

5. (colloquial, Cuba) vulva

Adjective

bollo m or f (masculine and feminine plural bollos)

1. (colloquial, Spain) dyke, lesbian (related to lesbians)

   Synonym: bollera

   rollo bollo ― dyke fling/thing; dyke stylish

Derived terms

• abollar
• bollería
• bollo maimón
• no está el horno para bollos
• zampabollos

Further reading

• “bollo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025