Where does “balance” come from?

balance (Middle French) comes from Old French balance, from Late Latin bilancia, from Latin bilanx, from Latin bi-, from Proto-Italic *dwi- — two, bi-, di.

balance (Middle French): scales

Definitions

  1. scales

Ancestry of “balance”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchbalancescales (weighing scales)
2Late Latinbilancia
3Latinbilanxhaving two scales; a balance with two scalepans
4Latinbi-having two parts; occurring twice
5Proto-Italic*dwi-two, bi-, di

Words derived from “balance

Every word from Proto-Italic *dwi-Every word from Latin bi-Every word from Latin bilanx