bale 1 (bāl) n. A large bundle of raw or finished material tightly bound with cord or wire and often wrapped: a bale of hay. tr.v. baled, bal·ing, bales To wrap in a bale or in bales: a machine that bales cotton. [Middle English, from Old French; see bhel- in Indo-European roots.] bal′er n. bale 2 (bāl) n. 1. Evil: “Tidings of bale she brought …

