Bold
Old English bald, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch boud and to German bald ‘soon’.
wiktionary
From Middle English bold, from Old English bold, blod, bolt, botl(“house, dwelling-place, mansion, hall, castle, temple”), from Proto-Germanic *budlą, *buþlą(“house, dwelling”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew-(“to grow, wax, swell”) or *bʰuH-.
Cognate with Old Frisian bold(“house”) (whence North Frisian bol, boel, bøl(“house”)), North Frisian bodel, budel(“property, inheritance”), Middle Low German būdel(“property, real estate”). Related to build.
From Middle English bold, bolde, bald, beald, from Old English bald, beald(“bold, brave, confident, strong, of good courage, presumptuous, impudent”), from Proto-West Germanic *balþ, from Proto-Germanic *balþaz(“strong, bold”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-, *bʰlē-(“to bloat, swell, bubble”).
Cognate with Dutch boud(“bold, courageous, fearless”), Middle High German balt(“bold”) (whence German bald(“soon”)), Swedish båld(“bold, dauntless”). Perhaps related to Albanian ballë(“forehead”) and Old Prussian balo(“forehead”). For semantic development compare Italian affrontare(“to face, to deal with”), sfrontato(“bold, daring, insolent”), both from Latin frons(“forehead”).
From Middle English bolden, balden, from Old English baldian, bealdian, from Proto-Germanic *balþōną, related to *balþaz (see above). Cognate with Old High German irbaldōn(“to become bold, dare”).
etymonline
bold (adj.)
Old English beald (West Saxon), bald (Anglian) "stout-hearted, brave, confident, strong," from Proto-Germanic *balthaz (source also of Old High German bald "bold, swift," in names such as Archibald, Leopold, Theobald; Gothic balþei "boldness;" Old Norse ballr "frightful, dangerous"), perhaps from PIE *bhol-to- suffixed form of root *bhel- (2) "to blow, swell."
Meaning "requiring or exhibiting courage" is from mid-13c. Also in a bad sense, "audacious, presumptuous, overstepping usual bounds" (c. 1200). From 1670s as "standing out to view, striking the eye." Of flavors (coffee, etc.) from 1829. The noun meaning "those who are bold" is from c. 1300 in both admiring and disparaging senses. Old French and Provençal baut "bold," Italian baldo "bold, daring, fearless" are Germanic loan-words. Related: Boldly; boldness.
