bal

Alternative forms

• balo

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *bala, cognate to Lithuanian bãlas (“white”), Latvian bàls (“pale”) and Greek (Hes.) φαλός λευκός (falós lefkós), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-.^[1]

Noun

bal m (plural bala, definite bali, definite plural balat)

1. dog or goat (with a white spot on the forehead)

References

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [bɑɫ]

• Audio (Baku):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Turkic *bạl (“honey”).

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Russian балл (ball), from French balle (“voting ball”).

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Russian бал (bal), from French bal, from Late Latin ballō.

Declension

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *bạl (“honey”).

Noun

bal (accusative [please provide], plural [please provide])

1. honey, mead
2. ball, dance party

References

• Mirjejev, V. A., Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎, Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbal]

Verb

bal

1. second-person singular imperative of balit

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɑl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bal
• Rhymes: -ɑl

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch bal, from Old Dutch *bal, from Proto-Germanic *balluz. Doublet of baal.

Etymology 2

From French bal, from Late Latin ballare.

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form. akin to sense spheric ball

Etymology

Inherited from Old French bal, deverbal of baller, from Late Latin ballare (“to dance”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bal/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

Noun

bal m (plural bals)

1. dance party, ball

Further reading

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

Etymology

French bal (“dance”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bal/

Noun

bal

1. dance party, ball

Etymology

Borrowed from English ball.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bâl/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [bâl]

Noun

bâl f (plural bàlā̀bàlai)

1. ball

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbɒl]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒl

Adjective

bal (not generally comparable, comparative balabb, superlative legbalabb)

1. left

   Antonym: jobb

   bal kéz ― left hand

   a bal oldalon ― on the left side

2. (figuratively) bad, unlucky
3. (rare) left, left-wing (pertaining to the political left)

   Synonym: baloldali

   Antonym: jobb

See also

Further reading

• bal in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• bal in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

Etymology 1

From Dutch bal (“ball”), from Middle Dutch bal, from Old Dutch *bal, from Proto-Germanic *balluz.

Etymology 2

From Dutch baal, from Middle Dutch bale, from Old French bale.

Further reading

• “bal” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *bạl.

Noun

bal

1. honey.

References

• N. A. Baskakov, S.M. Šapšala, editor (1973), “bal”, in Karaimsko-Russko-Polʹskij Slovarʹ [Karaim-Russian-Polish Dictionary], Moscow: Moskva, →ISBN

Alternative forms

• bol, ból, baol (some dialects, mainly in West-Limburg, sense 1, 2, and 3)
• baal
• Ball (Eupen, Krefeld)
• Balle (Eupen)

Etymology

From Middle Dutch bal, from Old Dutch *bal, from Proto-Germanic *balluz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɑ(ː)l/, [bɑ(ː)˨l], [bɑ(ː)˦l]

  IPA^(key): (Tungers) [bɑ̃l]

• Hyphenation: bal
• Rhymes: -ɑl, -ɑːl

Noun

bal m (plural balle or bel, diminutive belke or belsje)

1. (most dialects) ball (round or roundish object, most commonly used in games)
2. (most dialects, informal) testicle, nut
3. (most dialects, anatomy) ball (of the hand or foot)
4. (most dialects, chiefly in the negative) anything

   Heer snap dao geinen bal vaanaof. (Maastrichtian)

   He doesn't understand anything.

Etymology

From Middle High German balde, from Old High German baldo, adverb of bald, from Proto-Germanic *balþaz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-. Cognate with German bald, Dutch boud, English bold.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /baːl/
  • Rhymes: -aːl
  • Homophone: Bal

Adverb

bal

1. nearly, almost
2. soon

Etymology

From Old Dutch *bal, from Proto-Germanic *balluz.

Noun

bal m

1. ball (round object), sphere
2. something worthless

Further reading

• “bal (I)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “bal”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN

Alternative forms

• ball, balle

Etymology

Inherited from Old English *beall, from Proto-West Germanic *ballu, from Proto-Germanic *balluz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bal/

Noun

bal (plural balles)

1. A ball (an object of spherical shape)
2. A rounded or spherical lump or bump, especially in medical terminology; a boil.
3. A ball used in sports or other entertainment.
4. The eyeball; the eye viewed as a spherical object.
5. A sport with a ball as a key component of play.
6. One's head (top part of one's body)
7. A projectile resembling a ball in form
8. (rare) A node of muscles supporting the fingers or toes.
9. (rare) A ball-shaped container or box.
10. (rare, vulgar) One's testes (compare to the much more frequent Modern English sense)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ᵐbɑl/

Noun

bal

1. fish

References

• Heather and Don Mc Lean, North Wahgi (Yu We) Organised Phonology Data (2005), p. 2

Etymology

From the verb bala.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɑːl/

Noun

bal n (definite singular balet, uncountable)

1. bother, fuss, trouble (annoying, difficult or stressful activity)

   Det blir berre bal om me prøvar å gjera det no.

   It will only cause bother if we try to do that now.

Further reading

• “bal” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle High German balle. First attested in 1481.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /baːlʲ/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /bɒlʲ/

Noun

bal m animacy unattested

1. bale (rounded bundle or package of goods in a cloth cover, and corded for storage or transportation)
   • 1890 [1481], Adam Chmiel, editor, Zbiór dokumentów znajdujących się w Bibliotece hr. Przezdzieckich w Warszawie‎, page 41:

     Telam aut his similia ulna extra cameras mercimoniorum vendere audeant, preter... barchanum..., et telam stamine al. palem dumtaxat quilibet extra cameras predictas vendat

     [Telam aut his similia ulna extra cameras mercimoniorum vendere audeant, preter... barchanum..., et telam stamine al. balem dumtaxat quilibet extra cameras predictas vendat]

References

• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “bal”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: bal

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French bal.^[1] First attested in 1665–1683.^[2]

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German Balken / Baal.^[1] First attested in 1594.^[3]

Etymology 3

Inherited from Old Polish bal.

References

Further reading

• bal in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• bal in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “bal”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “bal”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “bal”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 86
• bal in Narodowy Fotokorpus Języka Polskiego
• Jan Łoś (1886) “bal”, in “Gwara opoczyńska. Studium dialektologiczne”, in Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Wydziału Filologicznego Akademii Umiejętności (1), volume 11, page 182

Etymology

From Late Latin ballāre (“dance”).

Pronunciation

• (Central Romagnol): IPA^(key): [ˈbaɐ̯l]

Noun

bal m (plural bël)

1. dance

Etymology

Inherited from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀯𑀸𑀮 (vāla), from Sanskrit वाल (vāla). Cognate with Hindi बाल (bāl), Punjabi ਵਾਲ (vāl, “hair”).

Noun

bal m (nominative plural bala)

1. a single hair
2. (in the plural) hair
   • 2002 July, Milena Hübschmannová, “Origin of Roma”, in ROMBASE Cultural Database‎, archived from the original on 2014-10-27:

     mire bala kale hin

     My hair is black

References

• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “vāˊla”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 675
• Boretzky, Norbert, Igla, Birgit (1994) “bal”, in Wörterbuch Romani-Deutsch-Englisch für den südosteuropäischen Raum : mit einer Grammatik der Dialektvarianten [Romani-German-English dictionary for the Southern European region] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 18
• Yaron Matras (2002) “Historical and linguistic origins”, in Romani: A Linguistic Introduction‎, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 40
• Marcel Courthiade (2009) “o bal, -es- m. -a, -en-”, in Melinda Rézműves, editor, Morri angluni rromane ćhibǎqi evroputni lavustik = Első rromani nyelvű európai szótáram : cigány, magyar, angol, francia, spanyol, német, ukrán, román, horvát, szlovák, görög [My First European-Romani Dictionary: Romani, Hungarian, English, French, Spanish, German, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian, Slovak, Greek] (overall work in Hungarian and English), Budapest: Fővárosi Onkormányzat Cigány Ház--Romano Kher, →ISBN, pages 71-72

Etymology

Borrowed from French bal.

Noun

bal n (plural baluri)

1. ball (party)

Etymology

Borrowed from French bal, from Late Latin ballare.

Noun

bal m (plural bals)

1. ball (formal dance)

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *bạl. Compare to Kazakh бал (bal), etc.

Pronunciation

• (Jiezi, Gaizi, Xunhua, Qinghai, Ili, Yining, Xinjiang) IPA^(key): [pɑl], [pɑɫ]

Noun

bal (3rd person possessive [please provide], plural [please provide])

1. honey

References

• Tenishev, Edhem (1976) “pal”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow, page 435
• 林莲云 [Lin Lianyun] (1985) “bal”, in 撒拉语简志 [A Brief History of Salar]‎, Beijing: 民族出版社: 琴書店, →OCLC, page 7
• 马伟 [Ma Wei], 朝克 [Chao Ke] (2014) “bal”, in 撒拉语366条会话读本 [Salar 366 Conversation Reader]‎, 1^st edition, 社会科学文献出版社 [Social Science Literature Press], →ISBN, page 17
• Ma, Chengjun, Han, Lianye, Ma, Weisheng (December 2010) “bal”, in 米娜瓦尔 艾比布拉 (Minavar Abibra), editor, 撒维汉词典 (Sāwéihàncídiǎn) [Salar-Uyghur-Chinese dictionary] (in Chinese), 1st edition, Beijing, →ISBN, page 32
• Yakup, Abdurishid (2002) “bal”, in An Ili Salar Vocabulary: Introduction and a Provisional Salar-English Lexicon‎, Tokyo: University of Tokyo, →ISBN, page 54

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *kwella(k).

Noun

bal

1. fire

References

• López Antonio, Joaquín, Jones, Ted, Jones, Kris (2012) Vocabulario breve del Zapoteco de San Juan Guelavía‎ (in Spanish), second electronic edition, Tlalpan, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., pages 13, 25

Noun

bal m (Cyrillic spelling бал)

1. ball (dance)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbal/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: bal

Etymology 1

Borrowed from German Ball.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Old Polish bal.

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Further reading

• bal in dykcjonorz.eu
• bal in silling.org
• Henryk Jaroszewicz (2022) “bal”, in Zasady pisowni języka śląskiego (in Polish), Siedlce: Wydawnictwo Naukowe IKR[i]BL, page 62
• Aleksandra Wencel (2023) “bal”, in Dykcjůnôrz ślų̊sko-polski, page 38

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbal/
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: bal

Etymology 1

Borrowed from German Ball.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German Ball.

Further reading

• Lorentz, Friedrich (1908) “bãl”, in Slovinzisches Wörterbuch‎ (in German), volume 1, Saint Petersburg: ОРЯС ИАН, page 13

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa⁵⁵/

Noun

bal

1. fish

Romanization

bal

1. Romanization of 𒁄 (bal)

Etymology

From Dutch bal, from Middle Dutch bal, from Old Dutch *bal, from Proto-Germanic *balluz.

Noun

bal

1. a ball or any object with such a shape
2. football; the ball used in a "football" game

   Ujang nepi ka ayeuna kénéh teu tiasa maén bal.

   Ujang still can't play football to this day.

See also

• maén bal
• méngbal

Noun

bal c

1. bale, bundle (big packet of things)
2. Formal gathering for dance, ball

References

• bal in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

Anagrams

• bl a, bl.a.

Noun

bal

1. honey

Noun

bal

1. Alternative spelling of pa·l

References

• Kroeber, Shoshonean Dialects of California, in University of California Publications: American archaeology and ethnology, volume 4, page 81

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish بال, from Proto-Turkic *bạl (“honey”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɑɫ/ [ˈbɑɫ̟̊]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

bal (definite accusative balı, plural ballar)

1. honey

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *bạl (“honey”).

Noun

bal (definite accusative baly, plural ballar)

1. honey

Further reading

• “bal” in Enedilim.com
• “bal” in Webonary.org

Numeral

bal

1. one

Noun

bal (definite form bal bi)

1. ball

References

Omar Ka (2018) Nanu Dégg Wolof, National African Language Resource Center, →ISBN

Noun

bal

1. fish