boiling (English)

Where does "boiling" come from?

The adjective 'boiling' is formed from the verb 'boil' combined with the suffix '-ing'[1]. The verb traces back through Middle English 'boillen' and Old French 'boillir' to the Latin 'bullīre'[2], meaning to bubble or boil, which itself stems from the noun 'bulla'[3] meaning a bubble. The noun 'bulla' may ultimately derive from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to swell or blow up[3][5].

Open questions

• The ultimate origin of the Latin noun bulla is uncertain, with proposals pointing to Proto-Indo-European swelling or blowing roots or potentially Gaulish influence. [3] [5]

Full etymology tree

• boiling (English), 'That boils or boil.'
  • suffix boil (English), 'To heat to the point where it begins to turn into a gas.'
    • inherited boillen (Middle English), 'to boil'
      • borrowed boillir (Old French), 'alternative infinitive of bolir.'
        • borrowed bullire (Latin), 'inflection of bulliō:'
          • derived bulla (Latin), 'a bubble'
  • suffix -ing (English), 'Used to form present participles of verbs.'

Ancestors

• boil (English)
• ing (English)

Descendants and derived words

• boiling frog (English)
• boiling hot (English)
• boilingly (English)
• boiling mad (English)
• nonboiling (English)

Related words

• water (English)

Sources

1. boiling (English) - Wiktionary
2. boil (English) - Wiktionary
3. bullio (Latin) - Wiktionary
4. boillen (Middle English) - Wiktionary
5. bulla (Latin) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris