Boll

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /bɒl/

Definitions

1. The rounded seed capsule of the cotton or flax plant containing the fibers or seeds ; a pod or capsule in various plants that contains seeds or is part of the fruit structure
2. A box-shaped case enclosing cotton seeds and fibers on the plant ; a protective enclosure around seeds in many kinds of plants
3. The fruiting body of cotton or flax plants that holds the seeds ; a seed-containing pod found in diverse plant species

Etymology: The seed pod of a cotton plant is named for the same idea as a bowl. English "boll" comes from Middle English "bolle," meaning a pod or shell, and it shares ancestry with Middle Dutch "bolle," meaning a round object. Both trace back to a Frankish form, "bollo," and further to a Proto-Germanic root, "bullô," which carried the sense of something round. That root also gave English "bowl," so "boll" and "bowl" are close relatives. The pod, round and swollen before it splits to release its fibres, was named for its shape rather than for anything about the cotton inside it. The word's sense stayed close to its physical form: a rounded case holding something within.

Synonyms: capsule, pod