bale
nounnounnounverbverbattested in dialogue
- //beɪl//
Evil, especially considered as an active force for destruction or death.
noun
- 1
Evil, especially considered as an active force for destruction or death.
- 2
Suffering, woe, torment.
That other ſwayne, like aſhes deadly pale, Lay in the lap of death, rewing his wretched bale.
Rome, and her Rats, are at the point of battell, The one ſide muſt haue baile.
Ffor if you wold comfort me with a kisse, Then were I brought ffrom bale to blisse, Noe longer here wold I lye.
Etymology
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
- 1
obsoleteA large fire, a conflagration or bonfire.
- 2
archaicA funeral pyre.
- 3
archaicA beacon-fire.
Etymology
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
- 1
A rounded bundle or package of goods in a cloth cover, and corded for storage or transportation.
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.
- 2
A bundle of compressed fibers (especially hay, straw, cotton, or wool), compacted for shipping and handling and bound by twine or wire.
What I claim therein as new, and desire to be secured by Letters Patent is the within described apparatus for forming a bale of cotton under pressure on a spindle or revolving rod,...
- 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.
- 5
A block of compressed cannabis.
- 6
A group of turtles.
The San Diego Freeway traffic is as slow as a bale of turtles.
A bale of turtles gathers on the waters edge at the newly opened Carpenter Creek Headwaters Park on Olive Road in Escambia County in March 20, 2026.
A captivating video of a 'bale' of turtles seemingly engaged in a meeting has taken the internet by storm
This bale of turtles is the last of the original group to be released.
Etymology
From Middle English bale (“bale”), from Old French bale and Medieval Latin bala, of Germanic origin. Doublet of ball.
verb
- 1
To wrap into a bale.
verb
- 1
To remove water from a boat with buckets etc.
Etymology
Alternative spelling of bail.
Forms
- plural
- bales
- past tense
- baled
- past participle
- baled
- present participle
- baling
- third person singular
- bales
bale · Evil, especially considered as an active force for destruction or death.
Bale · A surname.Bali · A province of Indonesia, primarily made up of the island of…ball · A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical mass.