Etymologically
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balcony

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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