# balcony

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbælkəni/ · frequency rank #9,852

## Definitions
1. An accessible structure extending from a building, especially outside a window.
2. An accessible structure overlooking a stage or the like.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *balkô
Frankish *balkōbor.
Medieval Latin balcōbor.
Italian balconebor.
English balcony
From Italian balcone (“balcony, floor-length window”), from Old Italian balcone (“scaffold”) from Lombardic *balk, *balko (“beam”), from Proto-Germanic *balkô (“beam”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ- (“beam, pile, prop”). Akin to Old High German balco, balcho (“beam”), Old English balca (“beam, ridge”). More at balk.

## Easily confused with
- **ballon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/balcony-vs-ballon)
- **bacon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bacon-vs-balcony)

## Common misspellings (11)
`ablcony`, `baclony`, `balccony`, `balcnoy`, `balconny`, `balconyy`, `balcoyn`, `ballcony`, `balocny`, `bbalcony`, `blacony`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/balcony