bola
Meaning
A cord with heavy balls at the ends, thrown to entangle the legs of cattle or game.
A type of necktie consisting of a cord with decorative fastenings.
Usage
The gaucho skillfully threw the bola, wrapping it around the legs of the running ostrich.
Traditional bolas were often made of stone weights connected by braided leather cords.
He wore a silver-tipped bola tie with his western shirt.
Etymology
The word 'bola' entered English in the 19th century, directly from American Spanish, where it simply means "ball." The Spanish term itself evolved from the Latin 'bulla,' meaning "bubble" or "round object." This Latin root can be traced further back to a Proto-Indo-European source related to swelling or roundness. The specific meaning of a throwing weapon developed in the South American pampas, where the tool was named for the weighted balls (bolas) attached to the cords, demonstrating a direct and concrete semantic evolution from a general term for a spherical object to a specific tool defined by that very shape.
Analysis
The word 'bola' is a simplex loanword. It is borrowed directly from Spanish, where it means "ball." Its functional role is as a complete lexical unit.