# बाल
## Hindi
### Pronunciation

* (Delhi) IPA: /bɑːl/, [bäːl]

### Etymology 1

Inherited from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀯𑀸𑀮 (vāla), from Sanskrit वाल (vāla). Cognate with Assamese বাল (bal, “pubic hair”).

#### Noun

बाल • (bāl) m (Urdu spelling بال)
* hair
    Synonym: केश (keś)
    इस लड़की के पास बहुत लंबे-लंबे बाल हैं।is laṛkī ke pās bahut lambe-lambe bāl ha͠i.This girl has very long hair.
    बालों की ज़ुल्फ़ें ― bālõ kī zulfẽ ― tresses of the hair

##### Declension
### Etymology 2

Borrowed from Sanskrit बाल (bāla).

#### Noun

बाल • (bāl) m (Urdu spelling بال)
* (chiefly in compounds) child, boy
    Synonym: बच्चा (baccā)

##### Derived terms

* बाल-बच्चे (bāl-bacce, “children”)
* बाल-बुद्धि (bāl-buddhi, “childishness, puerility”)
* बाल-वध (bāl-vadh, “infanticide”)
* बाल-विधवा (bāl-vidhvā, “child widow”)
* बाल-विवाह (bāl-vivāh, “child marriage”)
* बालकेलि (bālkeli, “infantile fun, childish frolic”)

### Etymology 3

Borrowed from Classical Persian بال (bāl), from Middle Persian b’lk’ (bālag, “wing”).

#### Noun

बाल • (bāl) m (Urdu spelling بال)
* wing

### References

* McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993) “बाल”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press
* Bahri, Hardev (1989) “बाल”, in Siksarthi Hindi-Angrejhi Sabdakosa [Learners' Hindi-English Dictionary], Delhi: Rajpal & Sons.
* Caturvedi, Mahendra, Bhola Nath Tiwari (1970) “बाल”, in A practical Hindi-English dictionary, Delhi: National Publishing House

## Pali
### Alternative forms

* bāla (Latin script)
* 𑀩𑀸𑀮 (Brahmi script)
* বাল (Bengali script)
* බාල (Sinhalese script)
* ဗာလ or ၿႃလ (Burmese script)
* พาล or พาละ (Thai script)
* ᨻᩣᩃ (Tai Tham script)
* ພາລ or ພາລະ (Lao script)
* ពាល (Khmer script)
* 𑄝𑄂𑄣 (Chakma script)

### Noun

बाल m
* Devanagari script form of bāla (“child, fool”)
* Devanagari script form of bāla (“hair”)

#### Declension
### Adjective

बाल
* Devanagari script form of bāla (“young”)

#### Declension
## Sanskrit
### Alternative scripts

* বাল (Assamese script)
* ᬩᬵᬮ (Balinese script)
* বাল (Bengali script)
* 𑰤𑰯𑰩 (Bhaiksuki script)
* 𑀩𑀸𑀮 (Brahmi script)
* ဗာလ (Burmese script)
* બાલ (Gujarati script)
* ਬਾਲ (Gurmukhi script)
* 𑌬𑌾𑌲 (Grantha script)
* ꦧꦴꦭ (Javanese script)
* 𑂥𑂰𑂪 (Kaithi script)
* ಬಾಲ (Kannada script)
* ពាល (Khmer script)
* ພາລ (Lao script)
* ബാല (Malayalam script)
* ᠪᠠ᠎᠊ᠠᠯᠠ (Manchu script)
* 𑘤𑘰𑘩 (Modi script)
* ᠪᠠᢗᠯᠠ᠋ (Mongolian script)
* 𑧄𑧑𑧉 (Nandinagari script)
* 𑐧𑐵𑐮 (Newa script)
* ବାଲ (Odia script)
* ꢨꢵꢭ (Saurashtra script)
* 𑆧𑆳𑆬 (Sharada script)
* 𑖤𑖯𑖩 (Siddham script)
* බාල (Sinhalese script)
* 𑩲𑩛𑩽 (Soyombo script)
* 𑚠𑚭𑚥 (Takri script)
* ப³ால (Tamil script)
* బాల (Telugu script)
* พาล (Thai script)
* བཱ་ལ (Tibetan script)
* 𑒥𑒰𑒪 (Tirhuta script)
* 𑨠𑨊𑨬 (Zanabazar Square script)

### Etymology

The origin is uncertain.
Perhaps a vṛddhi derivative of बल (bala, “strength”), denoting the potential and eventual power of youth; compare Lithuanian viekà (“power”) and vaikas (“child”) for an etymologically related pair (with each other, not to बाल (bāla)) with similar semantic connection; see also शिशु (śiśu).
Alternatively, imitative of the babbling of little children; compare बल्बला (balbalā, “to stammer”).
Finally, has been connected by Kuiper to Proto-Munda; compare Santali bale (“fresh, tender”) and Ho bāle (“young”), ultimately from Proto-Munda *bāle. Though this comparison is phonetically and semantically sound, it is unlikely for a Vedic word of such basic significance to be a loanword. In this case, the Munda words are from Sanskrit, possibly via a Prakrit.

### Pronunciation

* (Vedic) IPA: /bɑː.lɐ/
* (Classical Sanskrit) IPA: /ˈbɑː.l̪ɐ/

### Noun

बाल • (bāla) stem, m
* boy; child
    न बालः अस्मि।na bālaḥ asmi.I am not a boy.
* fool, simpleton

#### Derived terms

* बालक (bālaka)
* बालकेलि (bālakeli)

#### Descendants

* Pali: bāla
** → Khmer: ពាល (piəl)
** → Thai: พาล (paan)
* → Assamese: বাল (bal)
* → Bengali: বাল (bal)
* → Gujarati: બાળ (bāḷ)
* → Hindi: बाल (bāl)
* → Marathi: बाळ (bāḷ)
* → Old Javanese: wāla, bāla
** > Javanese: ꦮꦭ (wala) (inherited)
* Saraiki: ٻال (ḇāl)
* → Tamil: பாலன் (pālaṉ)
* ⇒ Telugu: బాలుండు (bāluṇḍu)

### Adjective

बाल • (bāla) stem
* childish, immature
* newly-risen (of the sun)
* (astronomy) waxing (of the moon)
* simple, foolish

#### Declension
### References

* Monier Williams (1899) “बाल”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 728, column 3.
* Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996) Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎ (in German), volume II, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 223
* Mayrhofer, Manfred (1963) Kurzgefasstes Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindischen [A Concise Etymological Sanskrit Dictionary]‎ (in German), volume II, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 426