bale

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈbāl 

1

: great evil

2

: woe, sorrow

… bring us bale and bitter sorrowings …

—Edmund Spenser

bale

2 of 3

noun (2)

: a large bundle of goods

specifically : a large closely pressed package of merchandise bound and usually wrapped

a bale of paper

a bale of hay

bale

3 of 3

verb

baled; baling

transitive verb

: to make up into a bale

in the field baling hay

baler noun

Examples of bale in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

No need to muck a barn or toss a bale of hay to wear one of the autumn'sbiggest trends — workwear is no longer for work’s sake (at least not exclusively). —Aemilia Madden, refinery29.com, 21 Oct. 2024

That deception has concrete impacts: Plastic bags that mistakenly end up at recycling centers can gum up machinery, start fires and contaminate bales of paper, which then can’t be recycled. —Lisa Song, ProPublica, 9 Sep. 2024

Verb

For example, cotton remnants must be picked off steel mattress springs before it can be shredded or baled for sale to scrap markets, according to the Mattress Recycling Council. —Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2024

And that’s what’s getting baled up in that situation. —Bill Lukitsch, Kansas City Star, 22 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, "evil-doing, threat of evil, harm, destruction of life, torment, grief," going back to Old English bealu (neuter), genitive bealwes "evil-doing, malice, harm, destruction, torment," going back to Germanic *balwa- "evil," in both active and passive aspects (whence also Old Frisian bale- [in balemunda "disloyal guardian"], Old Saxon balu "wickedness," Middle Dutch bal- [in baldadich "wanton"], Old High German balo, palo "evil, disaster, treachery," Old Icelandic bǫl "misfortune," Gothic balwa- [in balwawesei "wickedness"]), noun derivative from neuter of an adjective *balwa- (whence Old English bealu "evil, pernicious"), going back to dialectal Indo-European *b^hol-, whence also Old Church Slavic bolĭ "sick person," Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian bôl "pain," Russian bol'

Note: The etymon *b^hol- is attested with certainty only in Germanic and Slavic, assuming that this comparison itself is correct. Proposed links with other Indo-European branches, as Celtic, are less convincing.

Noun (2)

Middle English, from Middle French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German balla ball

Verb

derivative of bale entry 2

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1762, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing bale

• bale out

Kids Definition

bale

1 of 2 noun

ˈbā(ə)l 

: a large bundle of goods tightly tied for storing or shipping

a bale of cotton

bale

2 of 2 verb

baled; baling

: to make up into a bale

baler noun