# bale
## English
### Pronunciation

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

### Etymology 1

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

bale (uncountable)
* Evil, especially considered as an active force for destruction or death.
* Suffering, woe, torment.
** 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, page 441:That other ſwayne, like aſhes deadly pale, Lay in the lap of death, rewing his wretched bale.
** c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 2, column 2:Rome, and her Rats, are at the point of battell, The one ſide muſt haue baile.
** 1885, “Sir Cawline”, in Francis James Child, editor, The English and Scottish popular ballads‎, volume 2:Ffor if you wold comfort me with a kisse, Then were I brought ffrom bale to blisse, Noe longer here wold I lye.

##### Derived terms

* baleful

### Etymology 2

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

bale (plural bales)
* (obsolete) A large fire, a conflagration or bonfire.
* (archaic) A funeral pyre.
* (archaic) A beacon-fire.

##### Derived terms

* balefire

### Etymology 3

From Middle English bale (“bale”), from Old French bale and Medieval Latin bala, of Germanic origin. Doublet of ball.

#### Noun

bale (plural bales)
* 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.
* 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
* A measurement of hay equal to 10 flakes. Approximately 70-90 lbs (32-41 kg).
* A measurement of paper equal to 10 reams.
* A block of compressed cannabis.
* (collective) A group of turtles.

##### Coordinate terms

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

##### Derived terms

* baleable
* baleage
* baleless
* bale of dice
* rebale
* unbale

##### Further reading

* Units of paper quantity on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

#### Verb

bale (third-person singular simple present bales, present participle baling, simple past and past participle baled)
* (transitive) To wrap into a bale.

##### Derived terms

* bale up

##### Translations
### Etymology 4

Alternative spelling of bail.

#### Verb

bale (third-person singular simple present bales, present participle baling, simple past and past participle baled)
* (British, nautical) To remove water from a boat with buckets etc.

##### Translations
### Further reading

* Bale in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

### Anagrams

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

## Basque
### Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish vale.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bale/ [ba.le]
* Rhymes: -ale, -e
* Hyphenation: ba‧le

### Interjection

bale
* (Southern, colloquial) okay
    Synonym: ados

### Further reading

* “bale”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
* “bale”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

## Buginese
### Noun

bale
* Alternative spelling of balé (“fish”)

## Dutch
### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Verb

bale
* (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of balen

### Anagrams

* Abel

## French
### Alternative forms

* balle

### Etymology

From Gaulish *balu.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bal/
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

bale f (uncountable)
* chaff (inedible casing of a grain seed)

### Further reading

* “bale”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Haitian Creole
### Etymology

From French balai.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ba.le/

### Noun

bale
* broom

### Verb

bale
* to sweep

## Javanese
### Romanization

bale
* Dated spelling of balé. Romanization of ꦧꦭꦺ

## Kapampangan
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bəˈle/ [bəˈlɛː]
* Hyphenation: ba‧le

### Noun

balé
* house

#### Derived terms

* bale-balayan
* balen
* kababale
* kasiping-bale
* makibale
* mibale-bale
* pibale-bale

## Makasar
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbale/, [ˈɓa.lɛ]
* Hyphenation: ba‧le

### Adjective

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

#### Synonyms

* nyamang
* janna

#### Affixations

* ambalèi
* paʼbale

### Further reading

* A. A. Cense (2024) Makassaars-Nederlands woordenboek‎, Brill, →DOI

## Middle English
### Etymology 1

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

#### Alternative forms

* balu

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbaːl(ə)/

#### Noun

bale (plural bales)
* An evil or wrong act; a bad deed.
* Maliciousness, iniquity, damage.
* Devastation and doom; the causing of lifelessness.
* Woe or torment; hurting, agony.

##### Related terms

* baleful
* bale-siðe
* bali

##### Descendants

* English: bale (dated)
* ⇒ Yola: ballcoot

##### References

* “bāle, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-05-19.

#### Adjective

bale
* decisive, ruinous, vicious
* tormentuous, painful, hurtful

##### References

* “bāle, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-05-19.

### Etymology 2

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

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /baːl/

#### Noun

bale
* Any large fire; a bonfire or pyre.
* A fire for inhumation; a funeral pyre.
* A fire for execution or killing.

##### Related terms

* bale-fyre

##### Descendants

* English: bale (archaic)
* Scots: bale

##### References

* “bāl(e, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-05-19.

### Etymology 3

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

* bala, ball

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbaːl(ə)/

#### Noun

bale (plural bales)
* A bale (rounded bundle)

##### Descendants

* English: bale

##### References

* “bāle, n.(3).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-05-19.
* James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Bale”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.
* “bale”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.

## North Moluccan Malay
### Etymology

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

* IPA: /ˈba.le/

### Verb

bale
* (intransitive) to turn around
* (intransitive) to reverse

### Noun

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

#### References

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

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Verb

bale (present tense balar, past tense bala, past participle bala, passive infinitive balast, present participle balande, imperative bale/bal)
* Alternative form of bala

## Old Javanese
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ba.le/
* Rhymes: -le
* Hyphenation: ba‧le

### Noun

bale
* open building
* pavilion
* hall

#### Derived terms

* pabale
* pañca bale

#### Descendants

* > Javanese: ꦧꦭꦺ (balé) (inherited)

### References

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

## Pali
### Alternative forms

* 𑀩𑀮𑁂 (Brahmi script)
* बले (Devanagari script)
* বলে (Bengali script)
* බලෙ (Sinhalese script)
* ဗလေ or ၿလေ (Burmese script)
* พเล or พะเล (Thai script)
* ᨻᩃᩮ (Tai Tham script)
* ພເລ or ພະເລ (Lao script)
* ពលេ (Khmer script)
* 𑄝𑄣𑄬 (Chakma script)

### Noun

bale
* locative singular of bala (“strength”)

## Portuguese
### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈba.li/
* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈba.li/
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /ˈba.le/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ˈba.lɨ/
* Homophones: Báli (Brazil), vale (Northern Portugal)
* Hyphenation: ba‧le

### Verb

bale
* inflection of balar:
** first/third-person singular present subjunctive
** third-person singular imperative
* inflection of balir:
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative

## Romanian
### Etymology

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

* IPA: /ˈba.le/

### Noun

bale f pl (plural only)
* slobber, drool, dribble, saliva
    Synonym: salivă

#### Derived terms

* bălos

## Saterland Frisian
### Alternative forms

* baale, balle

### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbaːlə/
* Hyphenation: ba‧le

### Verb

bale
* (intransitive) to speak

#### Derived terms

* ätterbale
* baler
* bebale
* froamdbale
* juunbale
* muulebale
* rundbale
* truchbale
* uutbale

### References

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

## Spanish
### Verb

bale
* inflection of balar:
** first/third-person singular present subjunctive
** third-person singular imperative

## Tagalog
### Alternative forms

* bali

### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Tagalog) IPA: /ˈbale/ [ˈbaː.lɛ]
* Rhymes: -ale
* Syllabification: ba‧le

### Noun

bale (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎᜒ)
* (chiefly in the negative, colloquial) worth; value
* promissory note; credit; IOU
* request of partial advanced payment

### Adverb

bale (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎᜒ)
* used to connect previous conversation or events to the following question: so
* used before stating or enumerating the gist or summary of what is being discussed
* used as a meaningless filler word to begin a response or when one cannot start to speak

### Adjective

bale (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎᜒ)
* (colloquial) valuable; important
* bought on credit

#### Derived terms

* bale-bale
* balewala
* balihin
* bumale
* hindi bale
* pabalihin

## Turkish
### Etymology

Borrowed from French ballet.

### Noun

bale (definite accusative baleyi, plural baleler)
* ballet