balcony

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbælkəni/, /bælˈkəʊni/ (UK); /ˈbælkəni/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian balcone,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} formed from balco “scaffold” with the augmentative suffix -one.^[3][4] Balco is of Germanic origin,^[2][5] perhaps Langobardic,^[4][6] and related to Old High German balko “beam”^[3][5] and to English balk.^[3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A platform projecting from the wall of a building and enclosed by a railing (1618).^[7][3][5]

Semantic evolution

Random House explains the Italian sense as spreading from the beam over an opening to the opening itself.^[6] In English the word was applied to a similar structure at the stern of large ships (1666)^[7] and to the theatre, first for a stage box and from 1718 for the upper seating.^[7][4] Until about 1825 it was regularly stressed on the second syllable.^[4]

Timeline

• 1618 – a platform on the outside of a building.^[7][3][5]
• 1635 – attributive use, as balcony window.^[7]
• 1666 – a gallery at the stern of a ship.^[7]
• 1718 – a gallery in a theatre.^[7][4]
• about 1825 – the stress shifts to the first syllable.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A platform projecting from the wall of a building, enclosed by a railing or parapet.
2. An upper gallery projecting over the main floor of a theater or hall.

Word family

• balconied

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press