A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “surface, bosom, bosom of Earth, (Old English) folde” derived from the root ᴹ√PAL “wide (open)” (Ety/KEM). Here “folde” is an Old English word meaning “land, earth, ground”. The word “bosom” likewise in Old English could refer simply to a surface, and as an anatomical reference described the chest regardless of gender. Given these glosses, it seems unlikely that this word could be applied to the breasts of a woman, to which the term “bosom” was not applied in English until the 20th century.