Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

balke

1. (archaic) singular present subjunctive of balken

Anagrams

• blake, kabel

Middle English

Noun

balke

1. balk, ridge, beam

Descendants

• English: balk

See also

• bulge
• bulk
• walk

Etymology 2

• Probably cognate with Old Swedish nattbakka, Old English nihtwacu "night watch"
• Sounding like Finno-Ugric root *walke, originally meaning "illumination," whence Estonian valge, Finnish valkea "white," Hungarian világ "light"
• Also sounding like, and perhaps accidentally equivalent with, the Korean obsolete spelling 밝쥐 (balg-jwi, bak-), literally meaning "bright (eyed) rat," now 박쥐 (bag-jwi, bak-) "bat," cognate with 밝다 (balg-da, bak-) "to be bright, illuminating"
• Perhaps corrupting like balke > bakke > bake > bak > later bat rhyming with rat or cat with good night vision.

Noun

balke

1. bat (flying rodent)

Alternative forms

• bak
• bake
• bakke

Descendants

• English: bat (flying rodent)

Usage notes

• Korean 박쥐 (bag-jwi, bak-) "bat," from obsolete spelling 밝쥐 (balg-jwi, bak-), literally, "bright (eyed) rat," cognate with 밝다 (balg-da, bak-) "to be bright." Acually, however, the bat is said to be almost blind at night.
• Finno-Ugric *walke "illumination," whence Estonian valge, Finnish valkea "white"
• See also: Talk:bakke

References

• Middle English Dictionary, University of Michigan