英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

bolster: bolster: [OE] The idea underlying bolster ‘long pillow’ is of something stuffed, so that it swells up. It comes from a prehistoric Germanic *bolstraz, which was a derivative of *bolg-, *bulg- (source also of bellows, belly, billow and possibly bell, bellow, and bold). German has the related polster ‘cushion, pillow’.
=> bell, bellow, belly, billow, bold
pulse: pulse: English has two separate words pulse. The older, ‘seeds of beans, lentils, etc’ [13], comes via Old French pols from Latin puls ‘thick gruel (often made from beans and the like)’. This was a relative of Latin pollen ‘flour’ (source of English pollen) and Latin pulvis ‘powder’ (source of English powder and pulverize).

Its plural pultes has given English poultice [16]. Pulse ‘beat of the blood’ [14], comes via Old French pouls from Latin pulsus ‘beating’, a noun use of the past participle of pellere ‘drive, beat’ (source of English appeal, compel [14], dispel [17], expel [14], propel [15], and repel [15]). The derivative pulsāre gave English pulsate [18], and also push.
=> pollen, poultice, powder, pulverize; appeal, compel, dispel, expel, propel, pulsate, push, repel
bolster (n.): Old English bolster "bolster, cushion, something stuffed so that it swells up," especially "long, stuffed pillow," from Proto-Germanic *bolkhstraz (cognates: Old Norse bolstr, Danish, Swedish, Dutch bolster, German polster), from PIE *bhelgh- "to swell" (see belly (n.)).
pebble (n.): small, smooth stone, late 13c., from Old English papolstan "pebblestone," of unknown origin. Perhaps imitative. Some sources compare Latin papula "pustule, pimple, swelling."
Polack (n.): "Polish person," 1570s, from Polish Polak "(male) Polish person," related to Polanie "Poles," Polska "Poland," polski "Polish" (see Pole). In North American usage, "Polish immigrant, person of Polish descent" (1879) and in that context considered offensive in English. As an adjective from c. 1600.
poltroon (n.): "A coward; a nidgit; a scoundrel" [Johnson, who spells it poltron], 1520s, from Middle French poultron "rascal, coward" (16c., Modern French poltron), from Italian poltrone "lazy fellow, coward," apparently from *poltro "couch, bed" (compare Milanese polter, Venetian poltrona "couch"), perhaps from a Germanic source (compare Old High German polstar "pillow;" see bolster (n.)). Also see -oon.
pulse (n.2): "peas, beans, lentils," late 13c., from Old French pouls, pols and directly from Latin puls "thick gruel, porridge, mush," probably via Etruscan, from Greek poltos "porridge" made from flour, from PIE *pel- (1) "dust, flour" (see pollen; also compare poultice).