# bola
## English
### Etymology

Probably from Spanish bola.

### Pronunciation

* Rhymes: -əʊlə

### Noun

bola (plural bolas)
* A throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of a cord.

### See also

* rola bola

### Anagrams

* Albo, albo, albo-, Boal

## Bikol Central
### Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish bola.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbola/ [ˈbo.l̪a]
* Hyphenation: bo‧la

### Noun

bóla (Basahan spelling ᜊᜓᜎ)
* ball (object)
* flattery; compliment
    Synonym: bolada

#### Derived terms

* bolahon
* magbola
* parabola

#### Related terms

* bolero

## Buginese
### Noun

bola (Lontara spelling ᨅᨚᨒ)
* house

## Catalan
### Etymology

First attested in 1502. From Latin bulla, probably through the intermediate of Occitan bola. Doublet of butlla and the archaic or dialectal bolla.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [ˈbɔ.lə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [ˈbo.la]

### Noun

bola f (plural boles)
* ball
* (baseball) ball (pitch which falls outside the strike zone)
    Synonym: bola dolenta
* lie, untruth

#### Derived terms

* bola dolenta
* bola de neu
* bola-de-neu
* bola del món
* embolar

### Further reading

* “bola” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “bola”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “bola” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
* “bola” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## Cebuano
### Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish bola.

### Noun

bola
* ball, sphere

## Faroese
### Etymology

From Old Norse bola, from Proto-Germanic *bulōną.

### Verb

bola (third person singular past indicative bolaði, third person plural past indicative bolaðu, supine bolað)
* scowl, glower

#### Conjugation

$^1$Only the past participle being declined.

### Further reading

* "bola" at Sprotin.fo

## Fijian
### Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *polaq, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bəlaq.

### Verb

bola
* to split with axe or heavy knife

## Galician
### Etymology

From Latin bulla. Doublet of bóla and of bula.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbola/ [ˈbo.lɐ]
* Rhymes: -ola
* Hyphenation: bo‧la

### Noun

bola f (plural bolas)
* piece of bread usually round, large and low
* pie
* (archaic) bulla (round metallic seal)
** 1342, M. Romaní Martínez (ed.), La colección diplomática de Santa María de Oseira (1025-1310). Santiago: Tórculo Edicións, page 177:
    O qual privilegio era bolado de [...] bola de chunbo et de fios de sirgo do qual o tenor era tal en latin feyto, et por quanto en latin non entendian [todo homes pidio al] dito sennor que llo traladasse en romançoThe aforementioned charter was sealed with [...] seal of lead and threads of silk, and its content was written in Latin, and since Latin wasn't understood by everyone, the aforementioned lord asked for the document to be translated into Romance

### References

* Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “bola”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “bola”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “bola”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “bola”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

## Hiligaynon
### Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish bola.

### Noun

bóla
* ball

## Icelandic
### Noun

bola
* indefinite accusative singular of boli
* indefinite dative singular of boli
* indefinite genitive singular of boli
* indefinite accusative plural of boli
* indefinite genitive plural of boli

### Noun

bola
* indefinite genitive plural of bolur

## Indonesian
### Etymology

From Malay bola, from Portuguese bola, from Old Occitan bola, from Latin bulla. Doublet of bolu.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈbo.la]
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: bo‧la
* Rhymes: -la, -a

### Noun

bola (plural bola-bola)
* ball, a solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.
* (mathematics) sphere: a regular three-dimensional object in which every cross-section is a circle; the figure described by the revolution of a circle about its diameter.

#### Derived terms

* membola
* bola air
* bola api
* bola bakar
* bola basket
* bola boling
* bola dunia
* bola gelinding
* bola golf
* bola hidro
* bola jangkar
* bola kaki
* bola karet
* bola keju
* bola keranjang
* bola kristal
* bola lampu
* bola mandi
* bola mata
* bola muntah
* bola panas
* bola pingpong
* bola rotan
* bola sepak
* bola sodok
* bola sodokan
* bola sudut
* bola tampel
* bola tangan
* bola tangkas
* bola tenis
* bola tongkat
* bola voli
* bola voli pantai
* bola wasit

#### Related terms

* bolero

### Further reading

* “bola” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

## Kituba
### Verb

bola
* to rot

## Limos Kalinga
### Noun

bola
* lung

## Lingala
### Noun

bola class 1 (plural babola class 2)
* firstborn

## Malay
### Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese bola, from Old Occitan bola, from Latin bulla.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bola/
* Rhymes: -ola, -la, -a

### Noun

bola (Jawi spelling بول, plural bola-bola, informal 1st possessive bolaku, 2nd possessive bolamu, 3rd possessive bolanya)
* ball
    Bola bola sepakFootball ball

#### Further reading

* “bola” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

## Old Galician-Portuguese
### Etymology

Borrowed from Old Occitan bolla, from Vulgar Latin *bolla, from a merger of Latin bulla with Frankish *bollā. Doublet of bula.

### Noun

bola f (plural *bolas)
* bull (seal affixed to a document)
** 1342, Johan Sanchez, [Santa María de Oseira], Chantada; republished as chapter 1612, in Miguel Romaní Martínez, editor, La colección diplomática de Santa María de Oseira, Santiago: Tórculo Edicións, 1989–1993, page 177:(please add the primary text of this quotation)[O qual privilegio era bolado de [...] bola de chunbo et de fios de sirgo do qual o tenor era tal en latin feyto, et por quanto en latin non entendian [todo homes pidio al] dito sennor que llo traladasse en romanço et o fezesse a min escrivir en tal que podessen entender aquelles a que tangesse et se guardassen d ' errar a o dito mosteiro d ' Osseyra mayor [parte].](please add an English translation of this quotation)

#### Related terms

* bolado
* bolar

#### Descendants

* Fala: bola
* Galician: bola
* Portuguese: bola

### References

* Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “bol+a”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

## Portuguese
### Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese bola, borrowed from Old Occitan bolla, from Vulgar Latin *bolla, from a merger of Latin bulla with Frankish *bollā (compare English bowl). Doublet of bula and bolha.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbɔ.lɐ/
* Rhymes: -ɔlɐ
* Hyphenation: bo‧la

#### Noun

bola f (plural bolas)
* ball, sphere, round object
    Synonym: pelota
* (sports) ball
* fat person
* (slang, in the plural) testicle
* (colloquial) football, soccer

##### Derived terms

* bater bola
* bola de cristal
* bola de demolição
* bola de espelhos
* bola de feno
* bola de golfe
* bola de gude
* bolão
* bolar
* bolinha
* bolo
* dar bola
* embolar
* show de bola

### Etymology 2

From bolo.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbo.lɐ/
* Hyphenation: bo‧la

#### Noun

bola f (plural bolas)
* bread roll (small, round bread)

##### Derived terms

* bola-de-berlim

### Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbɔ.lɐ/
* Hyphenation: bo‧la

#### Verb

bola
* inflection of bolar:
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative

### Further reading

* “bola”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

## Sambali
### Noun

bola
* ball

### Noun

bolâ
* foam; bubble

## Serbo-Croatian
### Participle

bola (Cyrillic spelling бола)
* inflection of bosti:
** feminine singular active past participle
** neuter plural active past participle

## Slovak
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈbɔla]

### Participle

bola
* feminine singular l-participle of byť

## Spanish
### Etymology 1

From Latin bulla. Doublet of bula and bolla.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbola/ [ˈbo.la]
* Audio (Colombia):(file)
* Rhymes: -ola
* Syllabification: bo‧la

#### Noun

bola f (plural bolas)
* ball
    Synonyms: balón, pelota
* (slang) testicle
* (ice cream) scoop
* hilt (of a sword)
* (Spain) muscle
* (Dominican Republic, slang) hitchhiking, free ride
    Tomamos una bola para llegar aquí.We hitchhiked to get here.
* (colloquial, El Salvador) dollar (USD); buck.
    Synonym: dólar
    Tengo cinco bolas en mi cartera.I have five dollars in my pocket.
* (colloquial, Mexico) peso (MXN).
* (colloquial, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador) a lot; a bunch

##### Hyponyms

* bola de billar (“billiard ball, pool ball”)
* bola de boliche, bola de bolos, bola de bowling (“bowling ball”)
* bola de cristal
* bola de demolición
* bola de discoteca
* bola de fuego (“fireball, ball of fire”)
* bola de golf
* bola de helado (“ice cream scoop”)
* bola de hilo (“ball of yarn”)
* bola de masa (“dumpling”)
* bola de nieve
* bola de pelo (“hairball”)
* bola de tenis
* bola de vidrio
* bola del mundo
* bola franca
* bola mala

##### Derived terms

* a bola vista
* bola de Bichat
* bola de frail
* bola de lomo
* cambiar la bola
* correr la bola
* dar bola
* embolar
* en bolas
* escurrir la bola
* guerra de bolas
* hacerse bola
* hasta la bola
* molino de bolas
* niña de la bola
* niño de la bola
* no dar pie con bola
* parar bola
* pasabolas
* pasar la bola
* pie con bola
* queso de bola
* recogebolas
* romper las bolas
* ruede la bola

##### Descendants

* → Bikol Central: bola
* → Cebuano: bola
* → English: bola
* → Hiligaynon: bola
* → Tagalog: bola

### Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Adjective

bola f
* feminine singular of bolo

### Further reading

* “bola”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
* “bola”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010

### References

* Alba, Orlando (2004) Cómo hablamos los dominicanos: un enfoque sociolingüístico‎ (overall work in Spanish), Santo Domingo: Grupo León Jimenes, →ISBN

## Swazi
### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-bòda.

### Verb

-bola
* to rot, to decay

#### Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

## Swedish
### Etymology

Derived from Middle Low German bōlen, from bōle (“friend; lover; mistress”). Cognate of German buhlen and Dutch boelen. Compare origin of German Buhle.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /²buːla/

### Verb

bola (present bolar, preterite bolade, supine bolat, imperative bola)
* (archaic) bugger, wench, commit fornication

#### Conjugation

$^1$ Archaic. $^2$ Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

#### Derived terms

* boleri

### References

* bola in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* bola in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* bola in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
* bola in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

## Tagalog
### Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish bola, from Old Occitan bola, from Latin bulla. Doublet of bula.

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Tagalog) IPA: /ˈbola/ [ˈboː.lɐ]
* Rhymes: -ola
* Syllabification: bo‧la

### Noun

bola (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜓᜎ)
* ball; round object
* ball game
    Synonym: bolahan
* (figurative) flattery
    Synonym: hibo
* (figurative) taunt; jest
* (figurative) deception; bluff
    Synonyms: linlang, lalang, daya
* drawing of winning numbers in a lottery

#### Derived terms

* bola-bola
* bola-bolahin
* bolahan
* bolahin
* bolang kristal
* bolera
* bolero
* magbola
* mambobola
* mambola

#### Related terms

* keso de-bola

#### See also

* pelota

### Further reading

* “bola”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
* San Buena Ventura, Fr. Pedro de (1613) Juan de Silva, editor, Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero‎, La Noble Villa de Pila
** page 114: “Bola) Bola (pp) C. conque ya juegan eſtos”
** page 376: “Iugar) Bola (pp) [al argolla]”

### Anagrams

* balo, labo

## Ternate
### Etymology 1

Likely ultimately from Portuguese bola de gude (“marble”).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈbo.la]

#### Noun

bola
* a marble (toy)

### Etymology 2
#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈbo.la]

#### Noun

bola
* a spool

#### References

* Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

## Uneapa
### Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *bolac (“to spread out”) with irregular loss of *c, variant of *polac, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bəlaj, from Proto-Austronesian *bəlaj.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bola/

### Noun

bola
* mat

### Further reading

* Sarah Elizabeth Byrne, A practice-centred approach to Uneapa Island's archaeology in a long-term context (2008). Oceania (vol. 87, no. 1). Ph.D. dissertation. University College London.

## Uzbek
### Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *bāla.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bɒ.la/, [bɒ̽.læ]
* Hyphenation: bo‧la

### Noun

bola (plural bolalar)
* child
* young (of an animal)

#### Declension
## Welsh
### Etymology

From Middle Welsh boly, from Old Welsh bolg, from Proto-Brythonic *bolɣ, from Proto-Celtic *bolgos; cognate with Old Irish bolg.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbɔla/
* Rhymes: -ɔla

### Noun

bola m (plural boliau)
* belly
    Synonym: bol

#### Related terms

* stumog (“stomach”)

### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

## Xhosa
### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-bòda.

### Verb

-bola
* (intransitive) to rot, to decay

#### Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

## Yatzachi Zapotec
### Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

### Noun

bola
* neotropical whipsnake (Masticophis mentovarius)

### References

* Butler H., Inez M. (2000) Diccionario zapoteco de Yatzachi: Yatzachi el Bajo, Yatzachi el Alto, Oaxaca (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 37)‎, second electronic edition, Coyoacán, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 29

## Zulu
### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-bòda.

### Verb

-bola
* (intransitive) to rot, to decay
* (intransitive) to go bad