bulking
UK[ˈbʌlkɪŋ]US[ˈbʌlkɪŋ]
n
The process of gaining body mass, typically muscle, through diet and exercise.
n
The act or process of making something appear larger or more substantial in volume.
Morpheme Breakdown
bulk
ing
bulk
mass
ing
noun suffix
Etymology
The word 'bulking' is built upon the core noun 'bulk', which entered English from Old Norse, carrying the concrete sense of a heap or cargo. This Norse term is thought to be related to the Old English bolca (gangway of a ship), hinting at a shared nautical heritage focused on loaded mass. The addition of the agentive '-ing' suffix, a productive Germanic nominalizer, transforms the static concept of mass into the dynamic process of acquiring or increasing that mass. Thus, the modern term logically evolves from a literal 'cargo-loading' to the abstract process of building bodily or material substance.
Analysis
Structure: bulk (mass) + ing (noun suffix)
- bulk: From Middle English bulke (heap, cargo), likely from Old Norse bulki (cargo, heap). Functions as the core root noun denoting mass or volume.
- ing: From Old English -ung, -ing, a suffix forming nouns from verbs, indicating an action, process, or result.
Examples
He is currently in a bulking phase to add muscle before his competition.
The bulking of the manuscript with unnecessary appendices made it difficult to read.
Adding these fibers to the mixture aids in the bulking of the final product.