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boil (v.)

early 13c. (intransitive) "to bubble up, be in a state of ebullition," especially from heat, from Old French bolir "boil, bubble up, ferment, gush" (12c., Modern French bouillir), from Latin bullire "to bubble, seethe," from PIE *beu- "to swell" (see bull (n.2)). The native word is seethe. Figurative sense, of passions, feelings, etc., "be in an agitated state" is from 1640s.

I am impatient, and my blood boyls high. [Thomas Otway, "Alcibiades," 1675]

Transitive sense "put into a boiling condition, cause to boil" is from early 14c. The noun is from mid-15c. as "an act of boiling," 1813 as "state of boiling." Related: Boiled; boiling. Boiling point "temperature at which a liquid is converted into vapor" is recorded from 1773.

boil (n.)

"hard tumor," altered from Middle English bile (Kentish bele), perhaps by association with the verb; from Old English byl, byle "boil, carbuncle," from West Germanic *buljon- "swelling" (source also of Old Frisian bele, Old High German bulia, German Beule). Perhaps ultimately from PIE root *bhel- (2) "to blow, swell," or from *beu- "to grow, swell" (see bull (n.2); also compare boast (n.)). Compare Old Irish bolach "pustule," Gothic ufbauljan "to puff up," Icelandic beyla "hump."

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Definitions of boil from WordNet
1
boil (v.)
come to the boiling point and change from a liquid to vapor;
Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius
boil (v.)
immerse or be immersed in a boiling liquid, often for cooking purposes;
boil potatoes
boil wool
boil (v.)
bring to, or maintain at, the boiling point;
boil this liquid until it evaporates
boil (v.)
be agitated;
Synonyms: churn / moil / roil
boil (v.)
be in an agitated emotional state;
Synonyms: seethe
2
boil (n.)
a painful sore with a hard core filled with pus;
Synonyms: furuncle
boil (n.)
the temperature at which a liquid boils at sea level;
they brought the water to a boil
Synonyms: boiling point
From wordnet.princeton.edu