“billows” is a form of
billow
UK /ˈbɪl.əʊ/ · US /ˈbɪl.oʊ/ noun, verb, proper noun
Also a form of bellow
Forms billows billowing billowed
- noun A large wave, swell, surge, or undulating mass of something, such as water, smoke, fabric or sound.
- verb To surge or roll in billows.
- verb To swell out or bulge.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English *bilwe, borrowed from Old Norse bylgja, from Proto-Germanic *bulgijō.
Cognates include Danish bølge (“wave”); Norwegian Bokmål bølge (“wave”), Norwegian Nynorsk bylgje (“wave”); Swedish bölja (“wave”); German Low German Bulge, Bulg, Bülg (“billow, wave”); German Bulge (“billow, wave”). Compare bellow, bawl.
Probably a variant of Bellow or Bellew.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A great wave or surge of the sea or other water, caused usually by violent wind.
- noun A great wave or flood of anything. Milton.
- verb To surge; to rise and roll in waves or surges; to undulate.
Etymology [Cf. Icel. bylgja billow, Dan. bölge, Sw. bölja; akin to MHG. bulge billow, bag, and to E. bulge. See Bulge.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “billow”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details