Etymologically
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balla

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Forms

balla f (genitive ballae); first declension[1][2] It is also spelled ⟨bala⟩, ⟨balea⟩ and ⟨bella⟩.[3][4][1]

Etymology

It is a Germanic word.[4][3] According to the MLW it is borrowed from Old High German balla;[1] Köbler gives Old High German bal (“ball”), from Proto-Germanic *ballaz (“ball”), which he takes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to blow, swell”).[3] The British sources took it from Old French bale.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest dated use is in the Gascon Rolls of 1242, of a bale of pepper.[5]

Semantic evolution

In the trade of the later Middle Ages it was the word for a bale or bundle of merchandise, and a measure of cloth:[1][4][2] the annals of Genoa speak of hundreds of bales of cloth,[1] and a document of 1288 from Hungary of a bale of dyed cloth.[2] Du Cange also records it for a hailstone in the chronicle of Parma under 1293, for a playing ball, and, in a life of an Irish saint, for a fence around a spring (there for ⟨valla⟩).[6] In medical recipes balla marīna was the sea plant eelgrass.[1]

Neo-Latin kept the trading sense: Petrarch has a book sent among another man's bales, and the printer Plantin writes of packing a bale of books.[7] English bale comes from Old French ⟨bale⟩, from the same Germanic source.[8]

Timeline

  • 1242 – The Gascon Rolls record a bale of pepper.[5]
  • 1288 – A Hungarian document speaks of a bale of dyed cloth.[2]
  • 1293 – The chronicle of Parma uses it of a hailstone.[6]
  • early 14th century – English bale appears.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) A bale, bundle or package of merchandise.[4][5][1][7]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A measure of cloth.[1][2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A ball, for play; a hailstone.[6]
  4. (Medieval Latin, with marīna) Eelgrass, a sea plant.[1]
  • English bale
  • English ball

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  2. ^ a b c d e Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
  3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  7. ^ a b Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com