Where does “bal” come from?
bal (Old Polish) comes from Middle High German balle, from Old High German ballo, from Old High German bal, from Northern Sami bállu, from Northern Sami ballát, from Proto-Samic pëlājëtēk, from Proto-Samic pëlëtēk, from Proto-Uralic pele- — to fear.
Ancestry of “bal”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle High German | balle | — |
| 2 | Old High German | ballo | — |
| 3 | Old High German | bal | ball |
| 4 | Northern Sami | bállu | testicle, ball |
| 5 | Northern Sami | ballát | to become scared |
| 6 | Proto-Samic | pëlājëtēk | to become scared |
| 7 | Proto-Samic | pëlëtēk | to fear |
| 8 | Proto-Uralic | pele- | to fear |