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balance

Pronunciation: /ˈbæləns/

The English word “balance” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A state in which opposing forces harmonise; equilibrium.
  2. Mental equilibrium; mental health; calmness, a state of remaining clear-headed and unperturbed.
  3. Something of equal weight used to provide equilibrium; counterweight.
  4. A pair of scales.
  5. Awareness of both viewpoints or matters; neutrality; rationality; objectivity.
  6. The overall result of conflicting forces, opinions etc.; the influence which ultimately "weighs" more than others.
  7. Apparent harmony in art (between differing colours, sounds, etc.).
  8. A list accounting for the debits on one side, and for the credits on the other.
  9. The result of such a procedure; the difference between credit and debit of an account.
  10. A device used to regulate the speed of a watch, clock etc.
  11. The remainder.
  12. Libra.

verb

  1. To bring (items) to an equipoise, as the scales of a balance by adjusting the weights.
  2. To move while remaining balanced on a narrow or precarious support (e.g., a wire, ledge or rope).
  3. To make (concepts) agree.
  4. To hold (an object or objects) precariously; to support on a narrow base, so as to keep from falling.
  5. To compare in relative force, importance, value, etc.; to estimate.
  6. To move toward, and then back from, reciprocally.
  7. To contract, as a sail, into a narrower compass.
  8. To make the credits and debits of (an account) correspond.

Etymology

From Middle English balaunce, from Old French balance, from Late Latin *bilancia, from (accusative form of) Latin bilanx (“two-scaled”), from bi- + lanx (“plate, scale”). Displaced the word — Old English wǣġ akin to Modern English: wey from Proto-West Germanic *wāgu (“scales; weight”).

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.