balcony

Where does the word "balcony" come from? It comes from Lombardic balco, passing through Italian before entering English (1600s).

Balcony’s story begins in Lombardic: balco meant “a beam, scaffold.” A Germanic word meaning "a beam" or "scaffold". By medieval, the word had taken hold in Italian as balcone. Came to mean a platform projecting from a building. It reached English by 1600s as balcony. Early English speakers stressed the second syllable, 'bal-CO-ny', as in Italian. Today, balcony means a raised platform projecting from the wall of a building, enclosed by a railing.

1. Stage 1 · Lombardic · medieval balco "a beam, scaffold", a Germanic word meaning "a beam" or "scaffold".
2. Stage 2 · Italian · medieval balcone "a projecting platform", came to mean a platform projecting from a building.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s balcony "a raised platform projecting from a building", early English speakers stressed the second syllable, 'bal-CO-ny', as in Italian.