What does "bole" mean?
The trunk or stem of a tree.
Bole
/bol/ name, noun
name, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The trunk or stem of a tree.
- Grammar: bole is listed as name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: trunk, anthrophore, axis, barrel.
- Useful contrasts: root.
- Usage evidence: Enormous elm-tree boles did stoop and lean / Upon the dusky brushwood underneath / Their broad curved branches, fledged with clearest green, / New from its silken sheath.
How to use "bole"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bole" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bole" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bole" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bole" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bole" is acting as name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "trunk" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bole", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The trunk or stem of a tree.
"Enormous elm-tree boles did stoop and lean / Upon the dusky brushwood underneath / Their broad curved branches, fledged with clearest green, / New from its silken sheath."
- 2 Any of several varieties of friable earthy clay, usually coloured red by iron oxide, and composed essentially of hydrous silicates of alumina, or more rarely of magnesia. countable, uncountable
"Good Iznik has strong colours well-contained within their outlines and a very clean, clear white. The red colour, made with Armenian bole (an earthy clay) should be thick and proud of the surface."
- 3 Alternative form of boll (old unit of measure). alt-of, alternative
"Take then good Barley newly thrashed and well purged from the Chaff, and put thereof eight Boles, that is about ſix English Quarters, in a Stone - trough"
- 4 An aperture with a shutter in the wall of a house, to admit air or light. Scotland
""Open the bole," said the old woman firmly and hastily to her daughter-in-law, “open the bole wi' speed, that I may see if this be the right Lord Geraldin[…]."
- 5 a Chadic language spoken in northern Nigeria and closely related to Hausa, with dialects including Bara and Fika wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 The shade of reddish brown which resembles this clay. countable, uncountable
- 7 A small closet. Scotland
- 8 the main stem of a tree; usually covered with bark; the bole is usually the part that is commercially useful for lumber wordnet
- 9 A bolus; a dose. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"[…]or else[…]the churches were very incurious to swallow such a bole, if no pretension could have been reasonably made for their justification."
- 10 a soft oily clay used as a pigment (especially a reddish brown pigment) wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A Chadic language native to Nigeria.
- 2 A county-level city of Bortala prefecture, Xinjiang autonomous region, China.
"As September gets under way, the fields and open country of southern Xinjiang, stretching from Turpan through Korla, Aksu and Kashi to Hotan, as well as the northern country areas from Manas and Shihu westwards across to Bole (Bortala), are all abloom with silvery, snow-white blossoms."
- 3 A town in Ghana.
- 4 A village and civil parish of Nottinghamshire, England.
- 5 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Enormous elm-tree boles did stoop and lean / Upon the dusky brushwood underneath / Their broad curved branches, fledged with clearest green, / New from its silken sheath."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bole"?
Common synonyms include: trunk, anthrophore, axis, barrel, bolanci, bolanci language.
How do you use "bole" in a sentence?
Enormous elm-tree boles did stoop and lean / Upon the dusky brushwood underneath / Their broad curved branches, fledged with clearest green, / New from its silken sheath.
How do you pronounce "bole"?
Pronounced /bol/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English bole, from Old Norse bolr, akin to Danish bul and German Bohle (“plank”). See also bulwark (“defensive wall”).
Etymology 2
From Ancient Greek βῶλος (bôlos, “clod or lump of earth”): compare French bol. Doublet of bolus.
Etymology 3
From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 博樂 /博乐 (Bólè).
Etymology 4
Uncertain. Theories include derivation from Akan bɔro (bōro, “sweet”), Nuer bɛɛl (bōl, “grape”), and Gonja bɔl (bōl, “submission”).
Etymology 5
From earlier Bolle, ultimately from either the dative singular bolde or dative plural boldum of bold (“house”); the latter is perhaps suggested by its attestation in the Domesday Book as Medieval Latin Bolun.