balance
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈbæləns/
rhymes: -æləns
Forms: form: balances
form: balaunce
Etymology: From Middle English balaunce, from Old French balance, from Late Latin *bilancia, from (accusative form of) Latin bilanx (“two-scaled”), from bi- + lanx (“plate, scale”).
Displaced the word — Old English wǣġ akin to Modern English: wey from Proto-West Germanic *wāgu (“scales; weight”).
Senses: examples: text: But civilized man is quite a different animal, and when he wipes out an entire city or levels a forest, he is no longer working within the natural balance of things.
ref: 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 196:
glosses: A state in which opposing forces harmonise; equilibrium.
glosses: Mental equilibrium; mental health; calmness, a state of remaining clear-headed and unperturbed.
examples: text: These weights are used as a balance for the overhanging verandah.
text: Blair thought he could provide a useful balance to Bush's policies.
glosses: Something of equal weight used to provide equilibrium; counterweight.
glosses: A pair of scales.
glosses: Awareness of both viewpoints or matters; neutrality; rationality; objectivity.
examples: text: The balance of power finally lay with the Royalist forces.
text: I think the balance of opinion is that we should get out while we're ahead.
text: The shift in the balance of power online has allowed anyone to publish to the world, from dispirited teenagers in south London to an anonymous cyber-dissident in a Middle East autocracy.
ref: 2012 April 19, Josh Halliday, “Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?”, in the Guardian:
glosses: The overall result of conflicting forces, opinions etc.; the influence which ultimately "weighs" more than others.
glosses: Apparent harmony in art (between differing colours, sounds, etc.).
topics: accounting
business
finance
glosses: A list accounting for the debits on one side, and for the credits on the other.
examples: text: I just need to nip to a bank and check my balance.
topics: accounting
business
finance
glosses: The result of such a procedure; the difference between credit and debit of an account.
glosses: A device used to regulate the speed of a watch, clock etc.
examples: text: The balance of the agreement remains in effect.
text: The invoice said he had only paid $50. The balance was $220.
raw_tags: Philippine usage
text: Balance Luzon
topics: business
law
mathematics
sciences
statistics
glosses: The remainder.
topics: astrology
human-sciences
mysticism
philosophy
sciences
glosses: Libra.
Synonyms: sense: scales
word: pair of scales
sense: scales
word: set of scales
sense: scales
word: scales
sense: scales
word: weighing machine
sense: scales
english: for vehicles
translation: for vehicles
word: weighbridge
sense: equilibrium
word: equilibrium
sense: support for both viewpoints
word: disinterest
sense: support for both viewpoints
word: even-handedness
sense: support for both viewpoints
word: fairness
sense: support for both viewpoints
word: impartiality
sense: support for both viewpoints
word: neutrality
sense: support for both viewpoints
word: nonpartisanship
sense: list of credits and debits
word: account
Derived terms: sense: Accounting and economics
word: adjusted trial balance
sense: Accounting and economics
word: analytical balance
sense: Accounting and economics
word: balanced scorecard
sense: Accounting and economics
word: balance of equities
sense: Accounting and economics
word: balance of payments
sense: Accounting and economics
word: balance of trade
sense: Accounting and economics
word: t. b.
sense: Accounting and economics
word: balance sheet
sense: Accounting and economics
word: compar. b. s.
sense: Accounting and economics
word: balance transfer
sense: Accounting and economics
word: bank balance
sense: Accounting and economics
word: closing balance
sense: Accounting and economics
word: credit balance
sense: Accounting and economics
word: current balance
sense: Accounting and economics
word: debit balance
sense: Accounting and economics
word: opening balance
sense: Accounting and economics
word: trial balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: acro-balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: ampere balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: balance beam
sense: Other noun phrases
word: balance bicycle
sense: Other noun phrases
word: b. bike
sense: Other noun phrases
word: balance board
sense: Other noun phrases
word: balance dock
sense: Other noun phrases
word: balance of nature
sense: Other noun phrases
word: balance of power
sense: Other noun phrases
word: balance of probabilities
sense: Other noun phrases
word: balance of probability
sense: Other noun phrases
word: balance of terror
sense: Other noun phrases
word: balance room
sense: Other noun phrases
word: balance weight
sense: Other noun phrases
word: b.weight
sense: Other noun phrases
word: balance wheel
sense: Other noun phrases
word: basic balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: check and balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: chemical balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: Chinese balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: color balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: compensation balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: detailed balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: false balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: hydrostatic balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: Jolly balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: Kelvin balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: letter balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: mass balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: nitrogen balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: power balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: radiative balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: Roberval balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: Roman balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: spring balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: symmetrical balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: torsion balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: trial balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: white balance
sense: Other noun phrases
word: work-life balance
sense: Compound words
word: acrobalance
sense: Compound words
word: balanceman
sense: Compound words
word: balancewise
sense: Compound words
word: counterbalance
sense: Compound words
word: disbalance
sense: Compound words
word: electrobalance
sense: Compound words
word: equibalance
sense: Compound words
word: imbalance
sense: Compound words
word: inbalance
sense: Compound words
word: microbalance
sense: Compound words
word: ultra—
sense: Compound words
word: misbalance
sense: Compound words
word: nanobalance
sense: Compound words
word: overbalance
sense: Compound words
word: rebalance
sense: Compound words
word: thermobalance
sense: Prepositional phrases
word: in the balance
sense: Prepositional phrases
word: off balance
sense: Prepositional phrases
word: on balance
sense: Predicates
word: hang in the balance
sense: Predicates
word: keep one's balance
sense: Predicates
word: lose one's balance
sense: Predicates
word: strike a balance
sense: Predicates
word: throw off balance
sense: Predicates
word: tip the balance
sense: Predicates
word: weigh in the balance