Per the request of a Word Nerd Wednesday reader, I give you the etymology of balance: you know, that thing we are constantly in search of. Goldilocks knows what I’m talking about.

Coming from one of our Romance neighbors, balance comes from Old French. Spelled the same way, and even pronounced similarly, the Old French balance meant “scales for weighing”.

The Old French balance came from Medieval Latin’s bilancia, which came from Late Latin’s bilanx.

Bilanx is theorized to come from the combination of two Latin words:

bis: “twice”
– and –
lanx: “dish, plate”

Interestingly enough, it was in this sense of “scales for weighing by comparison of mass” that the word first entered the English language in the early 13th century. The word wasn’t used in accounting and math (“arithmetical difference between two sides of an account”) until the late 1500s. The meaning of physical balance didn’t appear until almost 100 years later. The use of the word to describe “general harmony between parts” came about last in 1732.

The etymology of balance is actually a great example of the evolution of written language. Written language first came about out of necessity in trade: when a dude promises you five goats and comes back claiming he only said he’d give you four too many weeks in a row, you start looking for a way to record the original agreement in a way that can be referenced later (#BirthOfContracts). Over time, written language evolved from topics of necessity to topics of more luxury, such as imagination and philosophy. Hence, balance first being used as a word to compare weights of different objects and lastly becoming a philosophical concept in life.

That’s it, Nerds! Happy Word Nerd Wednesday! Don’t forget to comment here or on Instagram with a word you’d like to see explored in upcoming weeks!

Reference

Online Etymology Dictionary: Balance
https://www.etymonline.com/word/balance