Etymograph

English

balance

Balance comes from Old French balance ‘scales’, from Vulgar Latin *bilancia, from Latin bilanx ‘two-scaled’, from bi- + lanx ‘scalepan’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElanx1‘plate’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbilanx1‘two-scaled’
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*bilancia1reconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400balance1‘scales’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500balaunce1‘A set of scales’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1692balance1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English balance
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1692, Roger L’Estrange, (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name : “Ballance the Good and Evil of Things.”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElanxWiktionary, English balance‘plate’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbilanxWiktionary, English balance‘two-scaled’
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*bilanciaWiktionary, English balancereconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400balanceWiktionary, English balance‘scales’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500balaunceWiktionary, English balance‘A set of scales’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1692balanceWiktionary, English balance. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1692, Roger L’Estrange, (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name : “Ballance the Good and Evil of Things.”

Linked words

through Latin lanx ‘plate, scale’

satire, 1 more

Today it means

noun A state in which opposing forces harmonise; equilibrium.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “balance”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin lanx / balance

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