Baleless
noun
1.
a large bundle or package prepared for shipping, storage, or sale, especially one tightly compressed and secured by wires, hoops, cords, or the like, and sometimes having a wrapping or covering: a bale of cotton; a bale of hay.
2.
a group of turtles.
verb (used with object)
3.
to make or form into bales: to bale wastepaper for disposal.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-Latin bala, Anglo-French bale pack, bale < Frankish *balla; compare Old High German balo, akin to balla ball1
1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-Latin bala, Anglo-French bale pack, bale < Frankish *balla; compare Old High German balo, akin to balla ball1
Related forms
bale·less, adjective
bal·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To baleless
00:10
Baleless
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
bail or bale2 (beɪl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| ( | |
| [C13: from Old French baille bucket, from Latin bāiulus carrier] | |
| bale or bale2 | |
| —vb | |
| [C13: from Old French baille bucket, from Latin bāiulus carrier] | |
| 'bailer or bale2 | |
| —n | |
| 'baler or bale2 | |
| —n | |
| bail or bale4 (beɪl) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | the semicircular handle of a kettle, bucket, etc |
| 2. | a semicircular support for a canopy |
| 3. | a movable bar on a typewriter that holds the paper against the platen |
| [C15: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse beygja to bend] | |
| bale or bale4 | |
| —n | |
| [C15: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse beygja to bend] | |
| bale1 (beɪl) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a large bundle, esp of a raw or partially processed material, bound by ropes, wires, etc, for storage or transportation: bale of hay |
| 2. | a large package or carton of goods |
| 3. | (US) 500 pounds of cotton |
| 4. | a group of turtles |
| 5. | (Austral), (NZ) See wool bale |
| —vb | |
| 6. | to make (hay, etc) into a bale or bales |
| 7. | to put (goods) into packages or cartons |
| 8. | (Austral), (NZ) to pack and compress (wool) into wool bales |
| [C14: probably from Old French bale, from Old High German balla | |
| bale2 (beɪl) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | evil; injury |
| 2. | woe; suffering; pain |
| [Old English bealu; related to Old Norse böl evil, Gothic balwa, Old High German balo] | |
| bale3 (beɪl) | |
| —vb | |
| a variant spelling of bail | |
| bale4 (beɪl) | |
| —n | |
| a variant spelling of bail | |
| Bâle (bɑl) | |
| —n | |
| the French name for Basle | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
bale
"large bundle or package," early 14c., from O.Fr. bale "rolled-up bundle," from a Gmc. source (cf. O.H.G. balla "ball"), from P.Gmc. *ball-, from PIE *bhel- (2) "to blow, swell" (see bole).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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