# bale

> English word · Noun · IPA /beɪl/ · frequency rank #12,731

## Definitions
1. Evil, especially considered as an active force for destruction or death.
2. Suffering, woe, torment.

## Etymology
From Middle English bale (“evil”), from Old English bealu, from Proto-West Germanic *balu, from Proto-Germanic *balwą.
Cognate with Low German bal- (“bad, ill”), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (balweins, “torture”), Old High German balo (“destruction”), Old Norse bǫl (“disaster”).

## Easily confused with
- **be** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-be)
- **BL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-bl)
- **bar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-bar)
- **bay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-bay)
- **ban** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-ban)
- **bye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-bye)
- **bat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-bat)
- **bee** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-bee)
- **bam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-bam)
- **bel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-bel)
- **BLM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-blm)
- **Bas** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-bas)
- **bao** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-bao)
- **BCE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-bce)
- **bbl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-bbl)
- **bla** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-bla)
- **bol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-bol)
- **Boe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-boe)
- **baz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-baz)
- **bap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bale-vs-bap)

## Common misspellings (4)
`bael`, `balle`, `bbale`, `blae`

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