| 1 | Middle English | bale | An evil or wrong act; a bad deed; Maliciousness,... |
| 2 | Old French | bale | rolled-up bundle, packet of goods |
| 3 | Medieval Latin | balla | — |
| 4 | Frankish | balla | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | balluz | round object, ball; ball of the hand, foot, etc |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |