Where does “bal” come from?
bal (Polish) comes from Old Polish bal, 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 — to fear.
bal (Polish): ball; log
Ancestry of “bal”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Polish | bal | — |
| 2 | Middle High German | balle | — |
| 3 | Old High German | ballo | — |
| 4 | Old High German | bal | ball |
| 5 | Northern Sami | bállu | testicle, ball |
| 6 | Northern Sami | ballát | to become scared |
| 7 | Proto-Samic | pëlājëtēk | to become scared |
| 8 | Proto-Samic | pëlëtēk | to fear |
| 9 | Proto-Uralic | pele- | to fear |