en balde

Galician

Attested since circa 1350. Ultimately from Andalusian Arabic بَاطِل (báṭil), from Arabic بَاطِل (bāṭil, “vain”)

in vain
Synonym: en van
- 1370, R. Lorenzo, editor, Crónica troiana, A Coruña: Fundación Barrié, page 549:
  Et aos que me assý seruẽ, faço eu ben, et doulles o que deseian, et nũca me seruẽ en balde.
  And to the ones who serve me so, I make good; and I give them what they desire, and never they serve me in vain.

Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “balde”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “en balde”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “balde”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “en balde”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “en balde”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Ultimately from Andalusian Arabic بَاطِل (báṭil), from Arabic بَاطِل (bāṭil, “vain”)