balcony English · revision 1620

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbælkəni/, /bælˈkəʊni/ ''(UK)''; /ˈbælkəni/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|balcone]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) formed from ''balco'' “scaffold” with the augmentative suffix ''-one''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) ''Balco'' is of Germanic origin,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) perhaps Langobardic,^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) and related to Old High German ''balko'' “beam”^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) and to English [[balk]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A platform projecting from the wall of a building and enclosed by a railing (1618).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Random House explains the Italian sense as spreading from the beam over an opening to the opening itself.^(RHWU) In English the word was applied to a similar structure at the stern of large ships (1666)^(OED 1989) and to the theatre, first for a stage box and from 1718 for the upper seating.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Until about 1825 it was regularly stressed on the second syllable.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1618 – a platform on the outside of a building.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1635 – attributive use, as ''balcony window''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1666 – a gallery at the stern of a ship.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1718 – a gallery in a theatre.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * about 1825 – the stress shifts to the first syllable.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A platform projecting from the wall of a building, enclosed by a [[railing]] or [[parapet]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An upper [[gallery]] projecting over the main floor of a [[theater]] or hall.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[balconied]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}