bæl

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Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *bēlą, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-. Cognate with Old Norse bál (whence Icelandic bál (a fire; a conflagration), Danish bål (fire, bonfire, pyre), Norwegian bål and Swedish bål (pyre, bonfire)). Further Indo-European cognates include Sanskrit भाल (bhāla, splendour), Ancient Greek φαλός (phalós, white) and Old Armenian բալ (bal, fog).

Pronunciation

Noun

bǣl n (nominative plural bǣl)

  1. funeral pyre, bonfire
  2. fire, flame, blaze

Declension

Strong a-stem:

singular plural
nominative bǣl bǣl
accusative bǣl bǣl
genitive bǣles bǣla
dative bǣle bǣlum

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Middle English: bale (possibly from Old Norse)