bale

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

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beɪ̯l/, [ˈbeɪ̯(ə)ɫ], [beə̯ɫ]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪl
• Homophone: bail

Etymology 1

From Old English bealo, from Proto-Germanic *balwô. Cognate with Low German bal- (“bad, ill”), 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

From Middle English bale, from Old English bǣl (“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

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.Wikipedia

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 (de)
• 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

• -able, Abel, Able, Beal, Blea, Elba, able, albe, bael, beal, blea

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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

Declension

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

• 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