Bowle

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A large decorative drinking vessel with a wide, deep bowl, typically used for serving beverages or punch at gatherings
2. A substantial ornamental container with a capacious bowl, designed for holding and serving drinks communally
3. A sizeable decorative vessel featuring a broad bowl, traditionally used to serve punch or other beverages to groups

Etymology: "Bowle" is simply an obsolete spelling of "bowl", and the two spellings were once in competition for the same word. The English word has two sources that converged. One is Old English "bolla", a vessel for drinking or measuring, which descends from a Germanic root meaning "ball" or "round vessel"; its relatives survive in Dutch "bol" (ball, scoop) and German "Bolle" (bulb). The other is Middle English "bowle" or "boule", borrowed from Old French "boule", meaning "ball", which came from Latin "bulla", "bubble" or "round object". Because both lines meant something round, they blended into one English word, and the spelling "bowle" reflects the French-influenced form. The two strands are doublets: "bowl" and "boule" (a ball, especially a bowling ball or a round French object) share a single root, as do "poll" and "bulla" through the same Latin source.