bale1

[beyl] /beɪl/
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), baled, baling.
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
Related forms
baleless, adjective
baler, noun

bale2

[beyl] /beɪl/
noun, Archaic.
1.
evil; harm; misfortune.
2.
woe; misery; sorrow.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English; Old English bealu, balu; cognate with Old Norse bǫl, Old Saxon balu, Old High German balo, Gothic balw-; akin to Russian bolʾ pain, OCS bolŭ ill

bale3

[beyl] /beɪl/
noun
1.
bail2 .

bale4

[beyl] /beɪl/
verb (used with object), verb (used without object), baled, baling.
1.
bail3 (defs 1–3).

Bâle

[bahl] /bɑl/
noun
1.
French name of Basel.
Examples from the web for bales
  • It was used to wrap round bales of hay and donated to us.
  • The walls are made of tightly packed straw bales held together with bamboo pins and lined with fishing nets.
  • The walls are made of tightly packed straw bales held together with bamboo pins and covered with fishing nets.
  • Politicians across the country will kiss babies and make stump speeches from straw bales.
  • Once, a drug smugglers' plane stuffed with bales of weed and wads of cash crashed in the high country.
  • Hay bales make an effective temporary skirt, but may not be allowed in some campgrounds.
  • The ranch has three log cabins in the woods, as well as an eco-friendly cabin made out of straw bales.
  • We had a delivery of more straw bales for tomatoes, vines, and peppers.
  • Parsing the case does not require bales of subpoenaed evidence.
  • bales of hay, piles of pumpkins, mums and scarecrows adorn homes throughout the fall.
British Dictionary definitions for bales

bale1

/beɪl/
noun
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
verb
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
See also bail out
Word Origin
C14: probably from Old French bale, from Old High German ballaball1

bale2

/beɪl/
noun (archaic)
1.
evil; injury
2.
woe; suffering; pain
Word Origin
Old English bealu; related to Old Norse böl evil, Gothic balwa, Old High German balo

bale3

/beɪl/
verb
1.
a variant spelling of bail2

bale4

/beɪl/
noun
1.
a variant spelling of bail4

Bâle

/bɑl/
noun
1.
the French name for Basle
Word Origin and History for bales

bale

n.

"large bundle or package," early 14c., from Old French bale "rolled-up bundle," from a Germanic source (cf. Old High German balla "ball"), from Proto-Germanic *ball-, from PIE *bhel- (2) "to blow, swell" (see bole).