bancal

English

Etymology

Spanish; see abancalar

Noun

bancal (plural bancales)

1. An ornamental covering, as of carpet or leather, for a bench or form.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for bancal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

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French

Etymology

From Old Occitan bancal, from Medieval Latin bancalis, from the base of Proto-Germanic *bankiz + -alis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɑ̃.kal/

Adjective

bancal (feminine singular bancale, masculine plural bancals, feminine plural bancales)

1. bandy-legged (of person)
2. rickety, wobbly (of table etc.)
3. shaky, unclear, illogical

Further reading

• “bancal” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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Galician

Etymology

Attested since the 14th century. From banco (“bench”) +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /baŋˈkal/

Noun

bancal m (plural bancais)

1. bancal
   • 1326, López Ferreiro, Antonio (ed.): Galicia Histórica. Colección diplomática. Santiago: Tipografía Galaica, page 295:

     mando esta mia cama assy como iaz con sous panos et con suas cortinas et ceo et con sous alfamares et con los outros destalos que eu trago comunalmente pela terra et con vn pano uerde et un tapete sen bançaes

     I bequeath this my bed, as it is, with its clothes and with its curtains and ceiling and with its quilts and with the other rugs that I have usually in the ground and with a green cloth and a tablecloth, no bancals

Related terms

• banco

References

• “bancal” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006-2012.
• “bançaes” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006-2016.
• “bancal” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006-2013.
• “bancal” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “bancal” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

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Spanish

Noun

bancal m (plural bancales)

1. plot (of land, for planting)

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Venetian

Alternative forms

• bancałe

Noun

bancal m (plural bancałi)

1. pallet
2. sill, windowsill