Bale

Pronunciation

• IPA: /beɪ̯l/, ˈbeɪ̯(É™)É«, beə̯ɫ
• Rhymes: -eɪl
• Homophones: bail

Old English bealo, from Proto-Germanic *balwô. Cognate with Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (balweins, "torture"), Old High German balo ("destruction"), Old Norse bǫl ("disaster").

Full definition of bale

Noun

1. Evil, especially considered as an active force for destruction or death.
2. Suffering, woe, torment.
• 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, VI.7:That other swayne, like ashes deadly pale,
  Lay in the lap of death, rewing his wretched bale.

Derived terms

• baleful

Old English bǣl, from Proto-Germanic *bēlō, from Proto-Indo-European. Cognate with Old Norse bál (which may have been the direct source for the English word).

Noun

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

Derived terms

• balefire
• baleful

Precise derivation uncertain: perhaps from Old French bale, balle, from Medieval Latin balla ("ball, rounded package"), from ; or perhaps from Dutch baal, itself borrowed from French.

Noun

1. A rounded bundle or package of goods in a cloth cover, and corded for storage or transportation.
2. A bundle of compressed wool or hay, compacted for shipping and handling.
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.

Derived terms

• bale of dice

Coordinate terms

• (measurement of paper) bundle, quire, ream

Verb

1. (transitive) To wrap into a bale.

Alternative spelling of bail

Verb

1. (British, nautical) To remove water from a boat with buckets etc.

Anagrams

• Abel, able, albe, Elba