bæl
See also: bael, ball, bel, bal, Ball, Bel, Bal, BAL, bél, bál, bèl, băl, bål, bel-, and ␇
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
- IPA(key): /bæːl/
Noun
bǣl n (nominative plural bǣl)
- funeral pyre, bonfire
- fire, flame, blaze
Derived terms
- bǣlblæse
- bælegsa
- bǣlfȳr
- bælstede
- bælþracu
- bælwudu
- bælwylm
Descendants
- Middle English: bale (possibly from Old Norse)
- English: bale