bald Look up bald at Dictionary.com
c.1300, ballede, probably, with M.E. -ede adjectival suffix, from Celt. bal "white patch, blaze" especially on the head of a horse or other animal (from PIE base *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, gleam;" see bleach). Cf., from the same root, Skt. bhalam "brightness, forehead," Gk. phalos "white," L. fulcia "coot" (so called for the white patch on its head), Alb. bale "forehead." Bald eagle first attested 1680s.