An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Balg

by Friedrich Kluge

Balg, masculine, ‘skin, case, bellows, brat,’ from the equivalent Middle High German balc (plural bęlge), Old High German balg, plural balgi, bęlgi, masculine; Gothic balgs, plural balgeis, ‘leather bottle,’ literally ‘the flayed skin of an animal for keeping liquids.’ On the root balgi- is based Anglo-Saxon belg, bylg, English belly (Balg, with the specialised meaning, ‘swollen body’), and English bellows, plural. The primary idea of the root is ‘swelling out’; from the same root the Old Teutonic dialects form a strong verb bëlgan (see Belster), meaning ‘to swell’; Old Icelandic bólgenn, ‘swollen’; Old High German bĕlgan, Middle High German bëlgen, ‘to swell, be angry.’ The pre-Teutonic form of the stem according to the laws of the permutation of consonants is bhelgh, and to this corresponds Indian barh (with the initial aspirate displaced), ‘to be great, strong'; also Old Irish bolgaim, ‘I swell,’ Irish bolg, Gallic,-Latin bulga, ‘bag.’ It is also possible that High German Balg is cognate with Latin follis (from *folvis, *folgvis). Compare further Bulge.