Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
bolster - 7 dictionary results
bol⋅ster
[bohl-ster] 
–noun
| 1. | a long, often cylindrical, cushion or pillow for a bed, sofa, etc. |
| 2. | anything resembling this in form or in use as a support. |
| 3. | any pillow, cushion, or pad. |
| 4. | Nautical.
|
| 5. | Metalworking. an anvillike support for the lower die of a drop forge. |
| 6. | Masonry.
|
| 7. | Carpentry. a horizontal timber on a post for lessening the free span of a beam. |
| 8. | a structural member on which one end of a bridge truss rests. |
–verb (used with object)
| 9. | to support with or as with a pillow or cushion. |
| 10. | to add to, support, or uphold (sometimes fol. by up): They bolstered their morale by singing. He bolstered up his claim with new evidence. |
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME bolstre (n.), OE bolster; c. ON bolstr, D bolster, G Polster
bef. 1000; ME bolstre (n.), OE bolster; c. ON bolstr, D bolster, G Polster
Related forms:
bol⋅ster⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
|
Link To bolster
| bol·ster (bōl'stər) n. A long narrow pillow or cushion. tr.v. bol·stered, bol·ster·ing, bol·sters
[Middle English, from Old English; see bhelgh- in Indo-European roots.] bol'ster·er n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Bolster
Bol"ster\, n. [AS. bolster; akin to Icel. b?lstr, Sw. & Dan. bolster, OHG. bolstar, polstar, G. polster; from the same root as E. bole stem, bowl hollow vessel. Cf. Bulge, Poltroon.]1. A long pillow or cushion, used to support the head of a person lying on a bed; -- generally laid under the pillows. And here I'll fling the pillow, there the bolster, This way the coverlet, another way the sheets. --Shak. 2. A pad, quilt, or anything used to hinder pressure, support any part of the body, or make a bandage sit easy upon a wounded part; a compress. This arm shall be a bolster for thy head. --Gay. 3. Anything arranged to act as a support, as in various forms of mechanism, etc. 4. (Saddlery) A cushioned or a piece part of a saddle. 5. (Naut.) (a) A cushioned or a piece of soft wood covered with tarred canvas, placed on the trestletrees and against the mast, for the collars of the shrouds to rest on, to prevent chafing. (b) Anything used to prevent chafing. 6. A plate of iron or a mass of wood under the end of a bridge girder, to keep the girder from resting directly on the abutment. 7. A transverse bar above the axle of a wagon, on which the bed or body rests. 8. The crossbeam forming the bearing piece of the body of a railway car; the central and principal cross beam of a car truck. 9. (Mech.) the perforated plate in a punching machine on which anything rests when being punched. 10. (Cutlery) (a) That part of a knife blade which abuts upon the end of the handle. (b) The metallic end of a pocketknife handle. --G. Francis. 11. (Arch.) The rolls forming the ends or sides of the Ionic capital. --G. Francis. 12. (Mil.) A block of wood on the carriage of a siege gun, upon which the breech of the gun rests when arranged for transportation. Note: [See Illust. of Gun carriage.] Bolster work (Arch.), members which are bellied or curved outward like cushions, as in friezes of certain classical styles.Bolster
Bol"ster\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bolstered; p. pr. & vb. n. Bolstering.]1. To support with a bolster or pillow. --S. Sharp. 2. To support, hold up, or maintain with difficulty or unusual effort; -- often with up. To bolster baseness. --Drayton. Shoddy inventions designed to bolster up a factitious pride. --Compton Reade.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : bolster
Spanish:
travesaño,
German:
das Polster,
Japanese:
長まくら
bolster
O.E. bolster "something stuffed so that it swells up," especially "long, stuffed pillow," from P.Gmc. *bolkhstraz, from PIE *bhelgh- "to swell" (see belly). The verb in fig. sense is from 1508, on the notion of "to support with a bolster, prop up."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Main Entry: bol·ster
Pronunciation: 'bOl-st&r
Function: transitive verb
: to use evidence usually improperly to give weight to (evidence already introduced)
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Bolster
The Hebrew word _kebir_, rendered "pillow" in 1 Sam. 19:13, 16, but in Revised Version marg. "quilt" or "network," probably means some counterpane or veil intended to protect the head of the sleeper. A different Hebrew word (meraashoth') is used for "bolster" (1 Sam. 26:7, 11, 16). It is rightly rendered in Revised Version "at his head." In Gen. 28:11, 18 the Authorized Version renders it "for his pillows," and the Revised Version "under his head." In Ezek. 13:18, 20 another Hebrew word (kesathoth) is used, properly denoting "cushions" or "pillows," as so rendered both in the Authorized and the Revised Version.
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Quality Pillows Online
Quality Bed & Body Down Pillows Travel Pillows, Insert & more
www.unitedpillow.com
Quality Bed & Body Down Pillows Travel Pillows, Insert & more
www.unitedpillow.com
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
