Wiktionary

bale

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bale"

English

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Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

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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

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bale (uncountable)

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

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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

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bale (plural bales)

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

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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

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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.
  6. (collective) A group of turtles.
Coordinate terms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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Further reading
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Verb

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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
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Translations
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Etymology 4

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Alternative spelling of bail.

Verb

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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
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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Basque

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Spanish vale.

Pronunciation

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

Interjection

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bale

  1. (Southern, colloquial) okay
    Synonym: ados

Further reading

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  • “bale”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy], Euskaltzaindia
  • “bale”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

Buginese

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Noun

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bale

  1. Alternative spelling of balé (“fish”)

Dutch

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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bale

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

Anagrams

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French

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Gaulish *balu.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bale f (uncountable)

  1. chaff (inedible casing of a grain seed)

Further reading

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Haitian Creole

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Etymology

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From French balai.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bale

  1. broom

Verb

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bale

  1. to sweep

Javanese

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Romanization

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bale

  1. Dated spelling of balé. Romanization of ꦧꦭꦺ

Kapampangan

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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balé

  1. house

Derived terms

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Makasar

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Pronunciation

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

Adjective

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bale (Lontara spelling ᨅᨒᨙ)

  1. savory; umami (e.g. cheese)
    Balei kasiaʼna jukukku ― My fish tastes savory.
  2. delicious; tasty
  3. (of sound or voice) pleasant, satisfactory; nice
    Balei batena aʼbicara ― The way he tells the story is pleasant.

Synonyms

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Affixations

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Further reading

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  • A. A. Cense (2024) Makassaars-Nederlands woordenboek‎[2], Brill, →DOI

Middle English

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Etymology 1

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

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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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.
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Descendants
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  • English: bale (dated)
References
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Adjective

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bale

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

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bale

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

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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

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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bale (plural bales)

  2. A bale (rounded bundle)
Descendants
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References
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North Moluccan Malay

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Etymology

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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

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Verb

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bale

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

Noun

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bale

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

References

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

Norwegian Nynorsk

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Verb

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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

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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bale

  1. open building
  2. pavilion
  3. hall

Derived terms

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Descendants

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References

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

Pali

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Alternative forms

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Alternative scripts

Noun

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bale

  1. locative singular of bala (“strength”)

Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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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

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Etymology

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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

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Noun

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bale f pl (plural only)

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

Declension

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plural only indefinite definite
nominative-accusative bale balele
genitive-dative bale balelor
vocative

Derived terms

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Saterland Frisian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Verb

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bale

  1. (intransitive) to speak

Conjugation

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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

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References

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

Spanish

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Verb

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bale

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

Tagalog

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bale (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎᜒ)

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

Adverb

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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

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bale (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎᜒ)

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

Derived terms

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Turkish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French ballet.

Noun

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bale (definite accusative baleyi, plural baleler)

  1. ballet
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