bale

noun

1. (uncountable)Evil, especially considered as an active force for destruction or death.
2. (uncountable)Suffering, woe, torment.

   “That other ſwayne, like aſhes deadly pale, Lay in the lap of death, rewing his wretched bale.”

   “Rome, and her Rats, are at the point of battell, The one ſide muſt haue baile.”

   “Ffor if you wold comfort me with a kisse, Then were I brought ffrom bale to blisse, Noe longer here wold I lye.”

3. (obsolete)A large fire, a conflagration or bonfire.
4. (archaic)A funeral pyre.
5. (archaic)A beacon-fire.
6. A rounded bundle or package of goods in a cloth cover, and corded for storage or transportation.

   “So having made up my mind, I packed up in bales a quantity of precious stuffs suited for sea-trade and repaired with them from Baghdad-city to Bassorah-town, where I found ship ready for sea, and in her a company of considerable merchants.”

7. A bundle of compressed fibers (especially hay, straw, cotton, or wool), compacted for shipping and handling and bound by twine or wire.
8. A measurement of hay equal to 10 flakes. Approximately 70-90 lbs (32-41 kg).
9. A measurement of paper equal to 10 reams.
10. A block of compressed cannabis.
11. (collective)A group of turtles.

verb

1. (transitive)To wrap into a bale.
2. (British)To remove water from a boat with buckets etc.

name

1. A surname.
2. A municipality of Croatia.