BALE  . i(r) (A word

common to Teutonic languages, in O . Eng. balu, cf . Icelandic bol), evil, suffering, a word obsolete except in poetry, and more common in the adjectival form " baleful." In early alliterative poetry it is especially used antithetically with " bliss." (2) (O . Eng. bael, a blazing fire, a funeral pyre), a bonfire, a northern English use more common in the tautological " bale-fire," with sometimes a confused reference from (1) to evil . (3) (A word of doubtful origin, possibly connected with " ball "), a bundle of merchandise, especially of cotton, wool or hay, packed with a cover, or fastened with bands of metal, &c. for transportation; the weight and capacity varies with the goods . (4) (Properly " bail," from Fr. bailie, possibly connected with Lat. bacula, a tub), to empty water out of a boat by means of a bail or bucket .