ETYM Latin bolus bit, morsel. Related to Bole, clay.
(Irregular plural: boluses).
1. A large pill; used especially in veterinary medicine.
2. A small round soft mass (as of chewed food).
Large pill; any round mass. bolus alba, china clay.
Mouthful of chewed food mixed with saliva, ready for swallowing. Most vertebrates swallow food immediately, but grazing mammals chew their food a great deal, allowing a mechanical and chemical breakdown to begin.
Rounded mass.