Wiktionary

bale

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bale"

English edit

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /beɪ̯l/, [ˈbeɪ̯(ə)ɫ], [beə̯ɫ]
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪl
  • Homophone: bail

Etymology 1 edit

From Middle English bale (“evil”), from Old English bealu, from Proto-West Germanic *balu, from Proto-Germanic *balwą.

Cognate with Low German bal- (“bad, ill”), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (balweins, “torture”), Old High German balo (“destruction”), Old Norse bǫl (“disaster”).

Noun edit

bale (uncountable)

  1. Evil, especially considered as an active force for destruction or death.
  2. Suffering, woe, torment.
Derived terms edit

Etymology 2 edit

From Middle English bale (“pyre, funeral pyre”), from Old English bǣl (“pyre, funeral pyre”), from Proto-Germanic *bēlą (“pyre”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to shine; gleam; sparkle”). Cognate with Old Norse bál (which may have been the direct source for the English word).

Noun edit

bale (plural bales)

  1. (obsolete) A large fire, a conflagration or bonfire.
  2. (archaic) A funeral pyre.
  3. (archaic) A beacon-fire.
Derived terms edit

Etymology 3 edit

From Middle English bale (“bale”), from Old French bale and Medieval Latin bala, of Germanic origin. Doublet of ball.

 
Round straw bales in Germany

Noun edit

bale (plural bales)

  1. A rounded bundle or package of goods in a cloth cover, and corded for storage or transportation.
    • 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 563:
      So having made up my mind, I packed up in bales a quantity of precious stuffs suited for sea-trade and repaired with them from Baghdad-city to Bassorah-town, where I found ship ready for sea, and in her a company of considerable merchants.
  2. A bundle of compressed fibers (especially hay, straw, cotton, or wool), compacted for shipping and handling and bound by twine or wire.
    Hyponyms: haybale, strawbale
  3. A measurement of hay equal to 10 flakes. Approximately 70-90 lbs (32-41 kg).
  4. A measurement of paper equal to 10 reams.
  5. A block of compressed cannabis.
Coordinate terms edit
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
Further reading edit

Verb edit

bale (third-person singular simple present bales, present participle baling, simple past and past participle baled)

  1. (transitive) To wrap into a bale.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit

Etymology 4 edit

Alternative spelling of bail.

Verb edit

bale (third-person singular simple present bales, present participle baling, simple past and past participle baled)

  1. (British, nautical) To remove water from a boat with buckets etc.
Translations edit
to remove water from a boat — see bail

Further reading edit

Anagrams edit

Basque edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Spanish vale.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /bale/ [ba.le]
  • Rhymes: -ale
  • Hyphenation: ba‧le

Interjection edit

bale

  1. (Southern, colloquial) okay
    Synonym: ados

Further reading edit

  • "bale" in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy], euskaltzaindia.eus
  • “bale” in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], euskaltzaindia.eus

Buginese edit

Noun edit

bale

  1. Alternative spelling of balé (“fish”)

Dutch edit

Pronunciation edit

Verb edit

bale

  1. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of balen

Anagrams edit

French edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From Gaulish *balu.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

bale f (uncountable)

  1. chaff (inedible casing of a grain seed)

Further reading edit

Haitian Creole edit

Etymology edit

From French balai.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

bale

  1. broom

Verb edit

bale

  1. to sweep

Javanese edit

Romanization edit

bale

  1. Dated spelling of balé. Romanization of ꦧꦭꦺ

Kapampangan edit

Etymology edit

From Proto-Philippine *balay, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *balay, from Proto-Austronesian *balay.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /bəˈle/, [bəˈlɛː]
  • Hyphenation: ba‧le

Noun edit

balé

  1. house

Derived terms edit

Middle English edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Old English bealu, from Proto-West Germanic *balu, from Proto-Germanic *balwą.

Alternative forms edit

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

bale (plural bales)

  1. An evil or wrong act; a bad deed.
  2. Maliciousness, iniquity, damage.
  3. Devastation and doom; the causing of lifelessness.
  4. Woe or torment; hurting, agony.
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
  • English: bale (dated)
References edit

Adjective edit

bale

  2. decisive, ruinous, vicious
  3. tormentuous, painful, hurtful
References edit

Etymology 2 edit

Either from Old English bǣl, Old Norse bál, or a conflation of both; in any case, from Proto-Germanic *bēlą.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

bale

  1. Any large fire; a bonfire or pyre.
  2. A fire for inhumation; a funeral pyre.
  3. A fire for execution or killing.
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
References edit

Etymology 3 edit

Probably borrowed from Old French bale, balle, from Medieval Latin balla, from Frankish or Old High German balla (“ball”), from Proto-Germanic *balluz.

Alternative forms edit

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

bale (plural bales)

  2. A bale (rounded bundle)
Descendants edit
References edit

North Moluccan Malay edit

Etymology edit

From Classical Malay باليق (balik). The noun sense is derived from how papeda is served by turning it around a pair of tongs; a serving is thus called a turn of papeda.

Pronunciation edit

Verb edit

bale

 
  1. (intransitive) to turn around
  2. (intransitive) to reverse

Noun edit

bale

  1. (of papeda, etc.) a portion, serving
    lima bale, bukang lima bokor ― five portions, not five bowls

References edit

  • Betty Litamahuputty (2012) Ternate Malay: Grammar and Texts

Norwegian Nynorsk edit

Verb edit

bale (present tense balar, past tense bala, past participle bala, passive infinitive balast, present participle balande, imperative bale/bal)

  1. Alternative form of bala

Old Javanese edit

Etymology edit

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *balay, from Proto-Austronesian *balay.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ba.le/
  • Rhymes: -le
  • Hyphenation: ba‧le

Noun edit

bale

  1. open building
  2. pavilion
  3. hall

Derived terms edit

Descendants edit

References edit

  • "bale" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

Pali edit

Alternative forms edit

Alternative forms

Noun edit

bale

  1. locative singular of bala (“strength”)

Portuguese edit

Pronunciation edit

 

Verb edit

bale

  1. inflection of balar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative
  2. inflection of balir:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Romanian edit

Etymology edit

Inherited from Vulgar Latin root *baba. Compare French bave, Italian bava, Spanish and Portuguese baba. The normal result, *ba, is not used as the singular has been replaced with bală through analogy.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

bale f pl (plural only)

  1. slobber, drool, dribble, saliva
    Synonym: salivă

Declension edit

declension of bale (plural only)
plural
f gender indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (niște) bale balele
genitive/dative (unor) bale balelor
vocative

Derived terms edit

Saterland Frisian edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

Uncertain. Perhaps a corruption of Old Frisian *babbelia (“to babble”), whence also Saterland Frisian babbelje.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈbaːlə/
  • Hyphenation: ba‧le

Verb edit

bale

  1. (intransitive) to speak

Conjugation edit

Conjugation of bale (irregular)
Grúundfoarme bale
Infinitive tou balen
Present tense Past tense
iek bale wie bale iek boalde wie boalden
du boalst jie bale du boaldest jie boalden
hie/ju/dät boalt jo bale hie/ju/dät boalde jo boalden
Present participle Imperative Auxiliary Past participle
balend Singular bale häbe boald
Plural balet

Derived terms edit

References edit

  • Marron C. Fort (2015) “bale”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

Spanish edit

Verb edit

bale

  1. inflection of balar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Tagalog edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From Spanish vale, third-person singular present indicative form of valer (“to be worth”), from Old Spanish valer. Compare Chavacano vale.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

bale (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎᜒ)

  1. (colloquial) worth; value (usually used in the negative)
  2. promissory note; credit; IOU
  3. request of partial advanced payment

Adverb edit

bale (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎᜒ)

  1. used to connect previous conversation or events to the following question: so
  2. used before stating or enumerating the gist or summary of what is being discussed
  3. used as a meaningless filler word to begin a response or when one cannot start to speak

Adjective edit

bale (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎᜒ)

  1. (colloquial) valuable; important
  2. bought on credit

Derived terms edit

Turkish edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from French ballet.

Noun edit

bale (definite accusative baleyi, plural baleler)

  1. ballet
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=bale&oldid=78962726"