bal

Symbol

bal

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Baluchi.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Baluchi terms

Noun

bal (plural bals)

1. (Cornwall) The surface of a mine.
   • 1856, A Hand-book for Travellers in Devon & Cornwall, John Murray, page xxxvii:

     The surface of the mine is called the bal, and every level and shaft has a name.

   • 2014, Bill Smith, Pendeen, page 44:

     Penny arrived dressed for the day as a bal-maiden and told us all about the delights of a surface worker's life at a mine in Pendeen days, which was, she told us, what a bal-maiden did.

   • 2025, George Thomas Newton, The Long Winter Ends:

     "Oo will do un, maister?" asked Jim.
     "The bal authorities," said Hunt.

See also

• bal-chatri

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bal/

Etymology 1

From Dutch bal, from Middle Dutch bal, from Old Dutch *bal, from Proto-Germanic *balluz.

Etymology 2

From Dutch bal, from French bal.