bilge

The word 'bilge' has a nautical journey. It originated from the Latin 'bulga', a leather bag or sack. This term was adopted into Old French as 'bulge', referring to a bag or a swelling. When it entered Middle English as a nautical term, its meaning shifted to describe the rounded, bulging part of a ship's hull, akin to the curve of a bag. Over time, it came to specifically denote the lowest internal part of that hull where water and waste collect. The figurative sense of 'nonsense' or 'worthless stuff' developed in the 19th century, drawing a direct analogy between the foul water in a ship's bilge and worthless ideas.

The word 'bilge' is a simplex word. It is a loanword, likely from the Old French 'bulge' meaning 'bag, wallet, swelling', which itself came from Latin 'bulga' (a leather bag or knapsack). Its functional role is as a complete lexical root.