bala

bala

1. to come

bala f (plural bales)

1. bullet

From Proto-Turkic *bāla (“child”), which is etymologically related to baldız (“sister-in-law”).^[1] Cognate with Crimean Tatar bala, Uzbek bola, Turkish bala (dialectal), etc.

• IPA^(key): [bɑˈɫɑ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ba‧la

bala (definite accusative balanı, plural balalar)

1. child

   Synonym: uşaq

2. young of an animal

• balaca (“little”)
• bala-bula

• → Armenian: բալա (bala)
• → Khalaj: bala
• → Talysh: balə

bala

1. balafon

Borrowed from Old Javanese bala (“strength, power; strong, powerful; troops, army”), from Sanskrit बल (bala, “power, strength”).

• IPA^(key): /ba.lə/
• Rhymes: -alə
• Hyphenation: ba‧la

bala (Balinese script ᬩᬮ)

1. troop, army

• “bala” in Balinese–Indonesian Dictionary [Kamus Bahasa Bali–Indonesia], Denpasar, Indonesia: The Linguistic Center of Bali Province [Balai Bahasa Provinsi Bali].

bala

1. xylophone
2. porcupine

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈba.lə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈba.la]

Borrowed from French balle.

bala f (plural bales)

1. bale

   dues bales de paper ― two bales of paper

Borrowed from Italian palla.

bala f (plural bales)

1. bullet
   • 2019, “Sento”, in Energia fosca, performed by El Petit de Cal Eril:

     Coses inútils com les caixes o els bancs / Coses terribles com les bales o els tancs

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. marble

• antibales
• a prova de bales
• joc de bales

• “bala”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “bala”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “bala” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “bala” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɓá.ɽa/

bála class 5 (plural mabála class 6)

1. wound, injury
2. defect, physical problem

Borrowed from English bar.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbá.ɽa/

bála class 5 (plural mabála class 6)

1. bar (establishment where alcoholic beverages can be sold)

From Proto-Bantu *-bíada.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɓa.ɽa/

-bala (infinitive kubála)

1. to bear, give forth

• Verbal derivations:
  • Passive: -badwa (“be born”)

bala

1. child
2. foal

• Mirjejev, V. A., Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎^[1], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

• IPA^(key): /ˈbala/ [ˈba.lɐ]
• Rhymes: -ala

bala f (plural balas)

1. bullet

• antibalas

• “bala”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

Likely related to bala. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

bala

1. to blow

• IPA^(key): /ba.la/
• Hyphenation: ba‧la

bala

1. group of people

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈbala/ [ˈba.la]
• Rhymes: -ala
• Syllabification: ba‧la

From Malay bala, from Sanskrit बल (bala).

bala (plural bala-bala)

1. force, army

   Synonyms: laskar, pasukan, prajurit, tentara

From Malay bala, from Arabic بَلَاء (balāʔ).

bala (plural bala-bala)

1. (uncommon) misfortune

   Synonym: kesialan

From Javanese ꦧꦭ (bala) or Balinese ᬩᬮ (bala). (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

bala (plural bala-bala)

1. 25th wuku of the Pawukon calendar

From Tombulu [Term?]. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

bala (plural bala-bala)

1. (dialectal) birds that are deemed able to give signal through their movements or sound

• “bala” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

bala

1. romanization of ꦧꦭ

From Proto-Turkic *bāla.

bala

1. child

• N. A. Baskakov, S.M. Šapšala, editor (1973), “bala”, in Karaimsko-Russko-Polʹskij Slovarʹ [Karaim-Russian-Polish Dictionary], Moscow: Moskva, →ISBN

bala

1. (anatomy) lung

• bal

Borrowed from German Ball.

• IPA^(key): /ˈba.la/
• Rhymes: -ala
• Syllabification: ba‧la

bala f

1. ball

   Synonym: pùczk

• Jan Trepczyk (1994) “piłka”, in Słownik polsko-kaszubski (in Kashubian), volumes 1–2
• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “piłka”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎^[2]
• “bala”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

bala

1. (anatomy) lung

Perso-Arabic		بالا

Borrowed from Azerbaijani bala (“child”)

• (Kharrab) IPA^(key): [bala]

bala (definite accusative balañ, plural balalar)

1. child

   Synonyms: bəççə, kâl, kôka

• Doerfer, Gerhard (1980) Wörterbuch des Chaladsch (Dialekt von Charrab) [Khalaj dictionary] (in German), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈbaː.ɫaː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈbaː.la]

bālā

1. second-person singular present active imperative of bālō

• "bala", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• "bala" in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers

bala

1. hot coals

From bãlas (“white”) +‎ -a. Cognate with Latvian bala (“loamy valley without trees, swamp, depression”), Proto-Slavic *bělь.

balà f stress pattern 2/4

1. swamp, mire, morass

   Synonyms: pélkė, rai̇̃stas

   • 1899, Mitteilungen der Litauischen Literarischen Gesellschaft, Volume 4‎^[3], page 445:

     Oi šermukšni, šermukšni, Kur tu augai tarp baliu [sic]

     Oh, rowan tree, where have you been growing in the midst of the swamps?

     Popularized in a recording by the Lithuanian band Ugniavijas in 2013.

   • 1925, J. Elisonas, “Archeologinių ir šiaip įdomių, tiek Panevėžio apskrities, tiek kitų artimų apylinkių, vietų sarašas, kurį yra surinkę Panevėžio valstybinės gimnazijos mokiniai [A list of archeological and otherwise interesting places, both in Panevėžys County and other nearby areas, compiled by the students of Panevėžys State Gymnasium]”, in Švietimo darbas‎^[4], number 4, pages 325–326:

     Dijokalnis. [...] Kalną supa miškas ir bala. [...] Dobulio kalnas. [...] Prie kalno yra gana didelė bala, turinti to paties kalno pavadinimą.

     [Dijokalnis hill] is surrounded by forest and swamp. [...] Near [Dobulio hill] there is a rather large swamp, which has the same name as the hill.

2. puddle

   Synonyms: balùtė, klãnas, valkà

   • 1971, Iš lietuvių kultūros istorijos‎^[5], volume 6, Mintis:

     Lyjant kaimo gatvėje neretai susidarydavo didžiulės balos.

     While it rained on the village street, huge puddles often formed.

   • 2000, Valentinas Zaikauskas, Pėdsakai baigiasi rojuje valentinas, Lietuvos rašytojų sąjunga:

     Blogai, kad lietus pradėjo merkti, - galvojo seklys, - tačiau sekant tokį beprotį lietus yra niekai. Ir vėjas, ir balos - tik smulkmena palyginus su ta nenusakoma beprotybe, kurios privalau neišleisti iš akių.

     It's bad that the rain started to drizzle, the sleuth thought, but following such madness the rain is nothing. Both the wind and the puddles are just a trifle compared to that indescribable madness that I must not lose sight of.

• Derksen, Rick (2015) “bala”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Baltic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 13), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 77
• “bala”, in Lietuvių kalbos etimologinio žodyno duomenų bazė [Lithuanian etymological dictionary database], 2007–2012
• “bala”, in Lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of the Lithuanian language], lkz.lt, 1941–2025

From French balle.

bala

1. bullet
2. cartridge

bala

1. (dialectal) poles used to carry a burden

balà

1. imperative form of balana

• IPA^(key): /bala/
• Rhymes: -ala, -la
• (Johor-Riau) IPA^(key): [ˈbä.lä, -lə]

From Sanskrit बल (bala).

bala (Jawi spelling بالا, plural bala-bala)

1. soldiery; army, force

• Indonesian: bala

From Arabic بَلَاء (balāʔ, “misfortune”).

bala (Jawi spelling بالا or بلاء, plural bala-bala)

1. misfortune, disaster, calamity

   Synonyms: bencana, malapetaka, kemalangan, kecelakaan

• Indonesian: bala

• “bala” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

Borrowed from Spanish bala.

bala

1. bullet

bala

1. alternative form of bale (“bale”)

bala

1. inland snake-eyed skink, a small tree-dwelling lizard in inland Australia.

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈpala/

bala

1. inflection of ballat:
   1. present indicative connegative
   2. second-person singular imperative
   3. imperative connegative

• bale (verb, e-infinitive)

bala (present tense balar, past tense bala, past participle bala, passive infinitive balast, present participle balande, imperative bala/bal)

1. to make noise

   Synonyms: bråka, ståka

2. to struggle

   Synonyms: streva, træla

bala n

1. definite plural of bal

• “bala” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• alba

• Audio:

  (file)

bala f (plural balas)

1. bullet (a projectile, usually of metal, shot from a gun at high speed)

Other scripts
Kawi
Javanese	ꦧꦭ
Balinese
Roman	bala

Borrowed from Sanskrit बल (bala, “power, strength”).

• IPA^(key): /ba.la/
• Rhymes: -la
• Homophone: bāla
• Hyphenation: ba‧la

bala

1. strength, power
2. troops, army, soldiers of lesser rank

• > Javanese: ꦧꦭ (bala), ꦮꦭ (wala) (inherited)
• → Balinese: ᬩᬮ (bala)

• "bala" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

Inherited from Sanskrit बल (bala).

bala n

1. strength
2. power
3. force
4. army, military force

• (army): balakāya

• balin (“strong”)

• → Thai: พล (pon)
• → Khmer: ពល (pŭəl)
• → Burmese: ဗလ (ba.la.)
• Foreign coinings:
  • → Khmer: ថាមពល (thaamaʼpŭəl, “energy, power”)
  • → Burmese: ပညာဗလ (pa.nyaba.la., “a title”)
  • → Burmese: မဟာပညာဗလ (ma.hapa.nyaba.la., “a title”)
  • → Thai: จตุพล (jà-dtù-pon, “a proper noun”)

bala

1. ball

From Proto-Bantu *-bàda.

-bala

1. to count

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

• Rhymes: -alɐ
• Homophone: vala (Northern Portugal)
• Hyphenation: ba‧la

Borrowed from French balle,^[1][2] from Middle French balle from Northern Italian balla (“ball”), from Lombardic *palla, *balla (“ball”), from Proto-Germanic *ballô (“ball”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰoln- (“bubble”), from *bʰel- (“to blow, swell, inflate”).

bala f (plural balas)

1. bullet, projectile (part of the ammunition for firearms)

   Synonym: projétil

   • 2009 April 15, “Corra! Rei das Feras!” (02:20 from the start), in Ryukendo, episode 3, São Paulo: Centauro, via RedeTV!; dubbing of “走れ!百獣の王”, in 魔弾戦記リュウケンドー, 2006 January 22:

     Kenji Narukami: Ih, eu não tenho mais balas...
     Jushiro Fudo: Não é bala que se fala, é munição!

     Kenji Narukami: Uh-oh, I've run out of bullets...
     Jushiro Fudo: Don't say bullet, it's ammunition!

2. (Brazil) candy, sweet

   Synonyms: doce, guloseima, rebuçado

3. (Brazil, slang) ecstasy (MDMA) pill

In Brazil, people in the military and other fields that make use of guns tend to proscribe the use of this word because of the candy sense, often relying on synonyms like projétil (projectile) and munição (ammunition).

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

bala

1. inflection of balar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative
2. inflection of balir:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

• IPA^(key): [ˈbala]

bala f

1. definite nominative/accusative singular of bală

Cognate with Azerbaijani bala.

• IPA^(key): [pɑlɑ]

bala (3rd person possessive balası, plural balalar)

1. child

• 林莲云 [Lin Lianyun] (1985) “bala”, in 撒拉语简志 [A Brief History of Salar]‎^[6], Beijing: 民族出版社: 琴書店, →OCLC, page 16
• Tenishev, Edhem (1976) “bala”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow, page 300
• 马伟 [Ma Wei], 朝克 [Chao Ke] (2014) “bala”, in 撒拉语366条会话读本 [Salar 366 Conversation Reader]‎^[7], 1^st edition, 社会科学文献出版社 [Social Science Literature Press], →ISBN, page 16

bala

1. to greet

From Italian ballo, from Old High German balo.

• IPA^(key): /bâla/
• Hyphenation: ba‧la

bȁla f (Cyrillic spelling ба̏ла)

1. bale, bundle, pack (bundle of goods)
2. (regional) ball, sphere

Unknown. Possibly a Dalmatian substratum word; compare Romanian bale (“slobber, saliva”).

• IPA^(key): /bâla/
• Hyphenation: ba‧la

bȁla f (Cyrillic spelling ба̏ла)

1. (usually in the plural) mucus, snivel
2. (usually in the plural, informal) snot
3. (usually in the plural) slobber

• “bala”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025
• “bala”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

bala

1. to read

From Proto-Bantu *-bàda.

-bala

1. to count

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbala/ [ˈba.la]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ala
• Syllabification: ba‧la

Borrowed from French balle.

bala f (plural balas)

1. bullet

   La bala atravesó la pared de la casa. ― The bullet went through the wall of the house.

   Encontraron una bala en la esceña del crimen. ― They found a bullet at the crime scene.

bala

1. inflection of balar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• “bala”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

bala

1. romanization of 𒁄 (bala)

From Proto-Bantu *-bàda.

-bala

1. to count

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bajaq (“tell, inform; ask, inquire”).

• (Standard Tagalog)
  • IPA^(key): /ˈbalaʔ/ [ˈbaː.lɐʔ] (“threat; warning”, noun)
    • Rhymes: -alaʔ
  • IPA^(key): /baˈlaʔ/ [bɐˈlaʔ] (“speaking; saying”, noun)
    • Rhymes: -aʔ
• Syllabification: ba‧la

balà (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎ)

1. threat

   Synonyms: panakot, banta, babala

2. warning

   Synonyms: babala, paalala

3. (obsolete) accusation against someone in front of some authority

   Synonyms: sumbong, bintang, akusa

balâ (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎ) (obsolete)

1. statement; speech; words said

   Synonyms: sabi, salita, wika

   Ang bala ng hari.

   The word of the king.

2. act of speaking or saying something

   Synonyms: sabi, salita, wika, pagsasalita, pagsasabi, pagwiwika

Borrowed from Spanish bala (“bullet”).

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈbala/ [ˈbaː.lɐ]
• Rhymes: -ala
• Syllabification: ba‧la

bala (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎ)

1. bullet; slug

   Synonym: punglo

2. pellet

Possibly from Western Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bala, *bara (“whatever, whichever”).

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈbala/ [ˈbaː.lɐ]
• Rhymes: -ala
• Syllabification: ba‧la

bala (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎ)

1. obsolete form of balang

• balana

• bawa

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈbala/ [ˈbaː.lɐ]
  • Rhymes: -ala
• (Bulacan) IPA^(key): /ˈbalaʔ/ [ˈbaː.lɐʔ]
  • Rhymes: -alaʔ
• Syllabification: ba‧la

bala (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎ) (obsolete)

1. buying on credit

   Synonyms: utang, pantaw

• “bala”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• Noceda, Fr. Juan José de, Sanlucar, Fr. Pedro de (1860) Vocabulario de la lengua tagala, compuesto por varios religiosos doctos y graves‎^[8] (in Spanish), Manila: Ramirez y Giraudier
• Santos, Fr. Domingo de los (1835) Tomas Oliva, editor, Vocabulario de la lengua tagala: primera, y segunda parte.‎^[9] (in Spanish), La imprenta nueva de D. Jose Maria Dayot
• San Buena Ventura, Fr. Pedro de (1613) Juan de Silva, editor, Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero‎^[10], La Noble Villa de Pila
  • page 19: “Acuſar) Bala [(pp)] a otro delante del mayor”
  • page 51: “Amenaça) Bala (pp) de palabra”
  • page 217: “Deçir) Bala (pc) algo hablãdo”
  • page 340: “Hablar) Bala (pc) diçiendo algo”

• alba, Alba, laab, abla, laba, alab

bala

1. young animal,nestling
2. child

From N- +‎ pala (“to rise”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈba.la/

bala

1. (intransitive) to float up, to emerge from water
2. (intransitive, by extension) to appear, to emerge

From either Indonesian bala (“army”) or Javanese ꦧꦭ (bala, “army”), both from Sanskrit बल (bala).

• IPA^(key): /ˈba.la/

bala

1. people

• IPA^(key): /ba.ˈlaː/

bala

1. alternative form of bahala (“disaster”)

• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

From Proto-Bantu *-bàda.

bala

1. to count

From Proto-Turkic *bāla (“child”).

• Hyphenation: ba‧la

bala (definite accusative balayı, plural balalar)

1. (obsolete, otherwise dialectal) child, baby

• çocuk (child)
• bebek (baby)

• çağa

• “bala”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Ayverdi, İlhan (2010) “bala”, in Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük, a reviewed and expanded single-volume edition, Istanbul: Kubbealtı Neşriyatı

bala

1. Latin (ULY) transcription of بالا (bala)
2. Latin (UYY) transcription of بالا (bala)

From Proto-Celtic *balago-, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷel- (“to dribble; gush forth; spring; squirt; throw”). Cognate with English quell.

bala m (plural balaon)

1. effluent, sluice

• Y Bala

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “bala”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

• IPA^(key): /ˈbala/

bala

1. before

From Proto-Bantu *-bàda.

-bala

1. to count

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

• -balisa

From Proto-Bantu *-bàda.

-bala

1. to count
2. to calculate

• -balisa

• C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “ɓala”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “ɓala (6.3)”