balcony definition

English

Etymology

From Italian balcone (“balcony, floor-length window”), from Old Italian balcone (“scaffold”) from Lombardic *balk, *balko (“beam”), from Proto-Germanic *balkô (“beam”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ- (“beam, pile, prop”). Akin to Old High German balco, balcho (“beam”), Old English balca (“beam, ridge”). More at balk.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbælkəni/, (obsolete) /bælˈkəʊni/

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Noun

balcony (plural balconies)

1. (architecture) An accessible structure extending from a building, especially outside a window.
   • 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Francesca Carrara, volume 2, page 132:

     I sprang a step forward; when two shadows were distinctly traced on the moonlit myrtle! Then two figures stood upon the balcony. A young cavalier jumped from the balustrade, and hurried down the path that led to the garden, where I well remember a gate opened on an unfrequented lane.

   • 2002, The Message translation of The Bible, Book of Acts 10:9–13

     The next day as the three travelers were approaching the town, Peter went out on the balcony to pray.

2. An accessible structure overlooking a stage or the like.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, OCLC 483591931:

     Sepia Delft tiles surrounded the fireplace, their crudely drawn Biblical scenes in faded cyclamen blending with the pinkish pine, while above them, instead of a mantelshelf, there was an archway high enough to form a balcony with slender balusters and a tapestry-hung wall behind.

Derived terms

• balconette
• balconette bra
• balconic
• balcony bra
• balconylike
• Juliet balcony

Translations