bale

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• /beɪl/
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -eɪl
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• homophone: bail
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• CMU ARPABET: B EY1 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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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”).

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).

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

Alternative spelling of bail.

76 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Asturian: paca — rounded bundle of goods
• Belarusian: цюк (cjuk) — rounded bundle of goods
• Bulgarian: бала (bala) — rounded bundle of goods
• Bulgarian: денк (denk) — rounded bundle of goods
• Catalan: fardell — rounded bundle of goods
• Chinese Mandarin: 捆包 (kǔnbāo) — rounded bundle of goods
• Chinese Mandarin: 包 (bāo) — rounded bundle of goods
• Chinese Mandarin: 捆 (kǔn) — rounded bundle of goods
• Finnish: paali — rounded bundle of goods
• French: ballot — rounded bundle of goods
• Galician: fardo — rounded bundle of goods
• Galician: bala — rounded bundle of goods
• Galician: paca — rounded bundle of goods
• German: Ballen — rounded bundle of goods
• Greek: βασταγή (vastagí) — rounded bundle of goods
• Hungarian: bála — rounded bundle of goods
• Indonesian: bal — rounded bundle of goods
• Italian: balla — rounded bundle of goods
• Japanese: 俵 (tawara) — rounded bundle of goods
• Persian: بغچه (boġče) — rounded bundle of goods
• Persian: بلغنده (balġande) — rounded bundle of goods
• Polish: balot — rounded bundle of goods
• Portuguese: fardo — rounded bundle of goods
• Russian: тюк (tjuk) — rounded bundle of goods
• Russian: ки́па (kípa) — rounded bundle of goods
• Slovak: bal — rounded bundle of goods
• Spanish: bala — rounded bundle of goods
• Swedish: bal — rounded bundle of goods
• Turkish: balya — rounded bundle of goods
• Ottoman Turkish: دنك (denk) — rounded bundle of goods
• Ottoman Turkish: بالیه (balya) — rounded bundle of goods
• Ukrainian: тюк (tjuk) — rounded bundle of goods
• Welsh: bwrn — rounded bundle of goods
• Bulgarian: бала (bala) — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Dutch: baal — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Finnish: paali — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• French: botte — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Galician: bala — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Galician: paca — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Greek: δεμάτι (demáti) — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Hungarian: bála — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Italian: balla — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Māori: pēre — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Māori: paere — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Norwegian: høyballe — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Polish: bela — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Portuguese: fardo — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Swedish: bal — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Ottoman Turkish: بالیه (balya) — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Walloon: botea — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Walloon: balot — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Walloon: rowe di strin — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Welsh: bwrn — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Welsh: swp — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Yiddish: באַלן (baln) — bundle of compressed wool or hay
• Finnish: paali — measurement of hay
• French: botte — measurement of hay
• Hungarian: bála — measurement of hay
• Catalan: bala — measurement of paper
• Finnish: pakka — measurement of paper
• Hungarian: bála — measurement of paper
• Polish: bela — measurement of paper
• Spanish: bala — measurement of paper
• Bulgarian: балирам (baliram) — to wrap into a bale
• Catalan: enfardellar — to wrap into a bale
• Catalan: enfardar — to wrap into a bale
• Finnish: paalata — to wrap into a bale
• Finnish: paalittaa — to wrap into a bale
• German: paketieren — to wrap into a bale
• Hungarian: báláz — to wrap into a bale
• Māori: pēre — to wrap into a bale
• Polish: balotować — to wrap into a bale
• Polish: belować — to wrap into a bale
• Portuguese: enfardar — to wrap into a bale
• Spanish: embalar — to wrap into a bale
• Turkish: paketlemek — to wrap into a bale