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bolt

Pronunciation: /bɒlt/

The English word “bolt” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A (usually) metal fastener consisting of a cylindrical body that is threaded, with a larger head on one end. It can be inserted into an unthreaded hole up to the head, with a nut then threaded on the other end; a heavy machine screw.
  2. A sliding pin or bar in a lock or latch mechanism.
  3. A bar of wood or metal dropped in horizontal hooks on a door and adjoining wall or between the two sides of a double door, to prevent the door(s) from being forced open.
  4. A sliding mechanism to chamber and unchamber a cartridge in a firearm.
  5. An iron to fasten the legs of a prisoner; a shackle; a fetter.
  6. A stalk or scape (of garlic, onion, etc).
  7. A large roll of fabric or similar material, as a bolt of cloth.
  8. The standard linear measurement of canvas for use at sea: 39 yards.
  9. A small personal-armour-piercing missile for short-range use, or (in common usage though deprecated by experts) a short arrow, intended to be shot from a crossbow or a catapult.
  10. A lightning spark, i.e., a lightning bolt. (See thunderbolt.)
  11. A sudden event, action or emotion.
  12. A sudden spring or start; a sudden leap aside.
  13. A sudden flight, as to escape creditors.
  14. A refusal to support a nomination made by the party with which one has been connected; a breaking away from one's party.
  15. A burst of speed or efficiency.

verb

  1. To connect or assemble pieces using a bolt.
  2. To affix in a crude or unnatural manner.
  3. To secure a bolt or bolts; to lock using a bolt.
  4. To flee, to depart, to accelerate away suddenly.
  5. To escape.

Etymology

From Middle English bolt, from Old English bolt, from Proto-West Germanic *bolt, from Proto-Germanic *bultaz, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeld- (“to knock, strike”). Compare Lithuanian beldu (“I knock”), baldas (“pole for striking”). Akin to Dutch and West Frisian bout, German Bolz or Bolzen, Danish bolt, Swedish bult, Icelandic bolti. The association of thunder and lightning with 'bolts'…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.