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bield

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bield¹

Rhymes with -iːld

Where it comes from

From Middle English belde, beeld, beld, from Old English bieldu (“courage, boldness”), from Proto-Germanic *balþį̄ (“boldness”), from *balþaz (“bold”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to inflate, swell”). Cognate with Old High German baldī (“boldness, courage”) (Middle High German belde), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹 (balþei, “boldness, courage”). More at bold.

noun bields · beeld · beild

  1. obsolete, uncountable, usually Boldness, courage; confidence; a feeling of security, assurance.
  2. obsolete, uncountable, usually Resource, help, relief; a means of help or relief; support; sustenance.
  3. Northern England, archaic, uncountable, usually, in Scotland Shelter, refuge or protection. This breast, this bosom soft, shall be thy bield / 'Gainst storms of arrows, darts, and weapons thrown.
  4. Northern England, archaic, uncountable, usually, in Scotland A place of shelter, a refuge.

bield²

Rhymes with -iːld

Where it comes from

From Middle English beelden, belden, from Old English byldan, bieldan (“to encourage, embolden”), from Proto-Germanic *balþijaną (“to make bold”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to inflate, swell”). Cognate with Old Saxon beldjan (“to encourage”), Old High German baldēn (“to make bold”) (Middle High German belden), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌾𐌰𐌽 (balþjan, “to make bold”).

verb bields · bielding · bielded · beeld · beild

  1. dialectal, obsolete, transitive To make bold, give courage or confidence to.
  2. dialectal, obsolete, transitive To defend, protect or shelter.

Similar: encourage

Thesaurus

verb

Similar: encourage

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MLA

"bield." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bield. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

APA

bield. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bield

Chicago

"bield." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bield.

BibTeX
@misc{bield_2026,
  title = {bield},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bield},
  urldate = {2026-11-05}
}