bield

noun

"bield" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bield” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Boldness, courage; confidence; a feeling of security, assurance.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bield · bield · English

bield · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for bield
PropertyValue
Headwordbield
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “bield” in English

bieldranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bield is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for bield in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English belde, beeld, beld, from Old English bieldu (“courage, boldness”), from Proto-Germanic *balþį̄ (“boldness”), from *balþaz (“bold”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to inflate, swell”). Cognate with Old High German baldī (“boldness, cou… The correct English form is bield, spelled B-I-E-L-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Boldness, courage; confidence; a feeling of security, assurance.
  2. 2
    Resource, help, relief; a means of help or relief; support; sustenance.
  3. 3
    Shelter, refuge or protection.
  4. 4
    A place of shelter, a refuge.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how bield appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. This breast, this bosom soft, shall be thy bield / 'Gainst storms of arrows, darts, and weapons thrown.

Etymology

From Middle English belde, beeld, beld, from Old English bieldu (“courage, boldness”), from Proto-Germanic *balþį̄ (“boldness”), from *balþaz (“bold”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to inflate, swell”). Cognate with Old High German baldī (“boldness, courage”) (Middle High German belde), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹 (balþei, “boldness, courage”). More at bold.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bield"?
"bield" is spelled B-I-E-L-D.
What does "bield" mean?
As a noun, "bield" means: Boldness, courage; confidence; a feeling of security, assurance.
What is the origin of the word "bield"?
From Middle English belde, beeld, beld, from Old English bieldu (“courage, boldness”), from Proto-Germanic *balþį̄ (“boldness”), from *balþaz (“bold”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to inflate, swell”). Cognate with Old High German baldī (“bol... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list