bale

See also: Bale, balé, Bâle, balë, ba-lê, and Ba Lê

English

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

From Old English bealo, from Proto-Germanic *balwô. Cognate with Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 ‎(balweins, “torture”), Old High German balo ‎(“destruction”), Old Norse bǫl ‎(“disaster”).

Noun

bale ‎(uncountable)

1. Evil, especially considered as an active force for destruction or death.
2. Suffering, woe, torment.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, VI.7:

     That other swayne, like ashes deadly pale, / Lay in the lap of death, rewing his wretched bale.

Derived terms

• baleful

Etymology 2

Form Old English bǣl, from Proto-Germanic *bēlō, from Proto-Indo-European. Cognate with Old Norse bál (which may have been the direct source for the English word).

Noun

bale ‎(plural bales)

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

Derived terms

• balefire
• baleful

Etymology 3

Precise derivation uncertain: perhaps from Old French bale, balle, from Medieval Latin balla ‎(“ball, rounded package”), from Germanic; or perhaps from Dutch baal, itself borrowed from French.

Round straw bales in Germany

Noun

bale ‎(plural bales)

1. A rounded bundle or package of goods in a cloth cover, and corded for storage or transportation.
2. A bundle of compressed wool or hay, compacted for shipping and handling.
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.

Derived terms

• bale of dice

Translations

rounded bundle of goods

• Belarusian: цюк m ‎(cjuk)
• Bulgarian: бала (bg) ‎(bala), денк (bg) ‎(denk)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 捆包 (zh) ‎(kǔnbāo), 包 (zh) ‎(bāo), 捆 (zh) ‎(kǔn)

• Finnish: paali (fi)
• French: ballot (fr) m
• German: Ballen (de) m
• Greek: βασταγή f ‎(vastagí)

• Hungarian: bála (hu)
• Italian: balla (it) f
• Japanese: 俵 (ja) ‎(たわら, tawara)
• Persian: بغچه (fa) ‎(boqče), بلغنده (fa) ‎(balqande)
• Portuguese: fardo (pt) m
• Russian: тюк (ru) m ‎(tjuk), ки́па (ru) f ‎(kípa)
• Slovak: bal (sk) m
• Spanish: bala (es) f
• Ukrainian: тюк m ‎(tjuk)

bundle of compressed wool or hay

• Bulgarian: бала (bg) ‎(bala)
• Finnish: paali (fi)
• French: botte (fr) f
• Greek: δεμάτι (el) n ‎(demáti)

• Hungarian: bála (hu)
• Italian: balla (it) f
• Portuguese: fardo (pt) m
• Yiddish: באַלן m ‎(baln)

measurement of hay

• Finnish: paali (fi)

• French: botte (fr) f
• Hungarian: bála (hu)

measurement of paper

• Finnish: paali (fi)
• Hungarian: bála (hu)

• Spanish: bala (es) f

Coordinate terms

• (measurement of paper): bundle, quire, ream

See also

• Units of paper quantity on Wikipedia.en.Wikipedia:Units of paper quantity

Verb

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

1. (transitive) To wrap into a bale.

Translations

to wrap into a bale

• Bulgarian: балирам ‎(baliram)
• Finnish: paalata (fi), paalittaa
• German: paketieren
• Hungarian: báláz (hu)

• Portuguese: enfardar (pt)
• Spanish: embalar (es)
• Turkish: paketlemek (tr)

Etymology 4

Alternative spelling of bail

Verb

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

1. (Britain, nautical) To remove water from a boat with buckets etc.

Translations

to remove water from a boat — see bail

See also

• Bale in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.

Anagrams

• Abel, able, albe, Elba

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Buginese

Noun

bale

1. fish

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

bale

1. (archaic) singular present subjunctive of balen

Anagrams

• Abel

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French

Alternate forms

• balle

Etymology

From Gaulish *balu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bal/

Noun

bale f ‎(uncountable)

1. chaff (inedible casing of a grain seed)

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Kapampangan

Etymology

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

Noun

bale

1. house

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Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈba.li/
  • Homophone: Bali

Verb

bale

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of balar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of balar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of balar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of balar
5. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present indicative of balir
6. second-person singular (tu, sometimes used with você) affirmative imperative of balir

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Romanian

Etymology

From 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.

Noun

bale f pl ‎(plural only)

1. slobber, drool, dribble, saliva

Derived terms

• bălos

Synonyms

• salivă

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Spanish

Verb

bale

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of balar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of balar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of balar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of balar.

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Turkish

Etymology

Borrowing from French ballet.

Noun

bale ‎(definite accusative baleyi, plural baleler)

1. ballet