Meanings
plural balconies
- architectureAn accessible structure extending from a building, especially outside a window.
The next day as the three travelers were approaching the town, Peter went out on the balcony to pray.
2002, The Message translation of The Bible, Book of Acts 10:9–133 more examples
I sprang a step forward; when two shadows were distinctly traced on the moonlit myrtle! Then two figures stood upon the balcony. A young cavalier jumped from the balustrade, and hurried down the path that led to the garden, where I well remember a gate opened on an unfrequented lane.
1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 132Its old town rises out of the Aegean Sea towards a clifftop Venetian castle in a jumble of white-washed narrow streets, flat rooftops and balconies that provide a perfect, obstacle-filled arena for parkour.
2022 June 16, Issy Ronald, “Meet the parkour athletes defying fear and gravity at Red Bull Art of Motion”, in CNN, archived from the original on 26 Jun 2022No security cameras were monitoring the second-floor balcony where thieves gained access to the Louvre to steal historic jewels worth over $100 million, the museum’s director told a French Senate committee hearing.
2025 October 23, Pierre P Bairin, Catherine Nicholls, Hilary Whiteman, “No security cameras covered Louvre balcony where thieves entered, director says”, in CNN, archived from the original on 28 Nov 2025 - An accessible structure overlooking a stage or the like.
Sepia Delft tiles surrounded the fireplace, their crudely drawn Biblical scenes in faded cyclamen blending with the pinkish pine, while above them, instead of a mantelshelf, there was an archway high enough to form a balcony with slender balusters and a tapestry-hung wall behind.
1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*balkô
- Frankish*balkō
- Medieval Latinbalcō
- Italianbalcone
- Englishbalcony
From Italian balcone (“balcony, floor-length window”), from Old Italian balcone (“scaffold”) from Lombardic *balk, *balko (“beam”), from Proto-Germanic *balkô (“beam”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ- (“beam, pile, prop”). Akin to Old High German balco, balcho (“beam”), Old English balca (“beam, ridge”). More at balk.
More words from Italian, Lombardic, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἐξώστης
- ἐξώστης (exṓstēs)structure overlooking a stage
Arabic شُرْفَة
- شُرْفَة (šurfa)structure extending from a building
Basque balkoi
- balkoistructure extending from a building
Bengali অলিন্দ, ব্যালকনি
- অলিন্দ (olindo)structure extending from a building
- ব্যালকনি (bêlkoni)structure extending from a building
Bulgarian балко́н
- балко́н (balkón)structure extending from a building
Catalan balcó
- balcóstructure extending from a building
Chinese Cantonese 騎樓 /骑楼
- 騎樓 /骑楼structure extending from a building
Chinese Mandarin 陽臺 /阳台, 陽台
- 陽臺 /阳台 (yángtái)structure extending from a building
- 陽台 (yángtái)structure extending from a building
Czech balkón, balkón
- balkónstructure extending from a building
- balkónstructure overlooking a stage
Danish altan, balkon
- altanstructure extending from a building
- balkonstructure extending from a building
- balkonstructure overlooking a stage
Dutch balkon
- balkonstructure extending from a building
Esperanto balkono
- balkonostructure extending from a building
Estonian rõdu, palkon
- rõdustructure extending from a building
- palkonstructure extending from a building
Finnish parveke, parveke
- parvekestructure extending from a building
- parvekestructure overlooking a stage
- lehteristructure overlooking a stage
French balcon, balcon
- balconstructure extending from a building
- balconstructure overlooking a stage
German Balkon
- Balkonstructure extending from a building
Greek μπαλκόνι, θεωρείο
- μπαλκόνι (balkóni)structure extending from a building
- θεωρείο (theoreío)structure overlooking a stage
Hebrew מִרְפֶּסֶת, גְּזוּזְטְרָה
- מִרְפֶּסֶת (mirpéset)structure extending from a building
- גְּזוּזְטְרָה (g'zuzt'rá)structure extending from a building
Hindi छज्जा
- छज्जा (chajjā)structure extending from a building
Hungarian erkély, balkon
- erkélystructure extending from a building
- balkonstructure extending from a building
Icelandic svalir, altan
- svalirstructure extending from a building
- altanstructure extending from a building
Indonesian balkon
- balkonstructure extending from a building
Irish balcóin, áiléar
- balcóinstructure extending from a building
- áiléarstructure overlooking a stage
Italian balcone
- balconestructure extending from a building
Japanese バルコニー, ベランダ
- バルコニー (barukonī)structure extending from a building
- ベランダ (beranda)structure extending from a building
- バルコニー (barukonī)structure overlooking a stage
Korean 발코니, 발코니
- 발코니 (balkoni)structure extending from a building
- 발코니 (balkoni)structure overlooking a stage
Latin maenianum, podium
- maenianumstructure extending from a building
- podiumstructure extending from a building
- podiumstructure overlooking a stage
Latvian balkons
- balkonsstructure extending from a building
Lithuanian balkonas
- balkonasstructure extending from a building
Malay balkoni
- balkonistructure extending from a building
Māori mahaurangi
- mahaurangistructure extending from a building
Norwegian Bokmål balkong
- balkongstructure extending from a building
Polish balkon, balkon
- balkonstructure extending from a building
- balkonstructure overlooking a stage
Portuguese sacada, balcão
- sacadastructure extending from a building
- balcãostructure extending from a building
- varandastructure extending from a building
- camarotestructure overlooking a stage
Romanian balcon
- balconstructure extending from a building
Russian балко́н, балко́н
- балко́н (balkón)structure extending from a building
- балко́н (balkón)structure overlooking a stage
Scottish Gaelic for-uinneag
- for-uinneagstructure extending from a building
Slovak balkón
- balkónstructure extending from a building
Spanish balcón, palco
- balcónstructure extending from a building
- palcostructure overlooking a stage
Swahili roshani
- roshanistructure extending from a building
Swedish balkong, balkong
- balkongstructure extending from a building
- balkongstructure overlooking a stage
- läktarestructure overlooking a stage
Tagalog balkonahe, tambusan
- balkonahestructure extending from a building
- tambusanstructure extending from a building
- palkostructure overlooking a stage
Tamil பால்கனியில்
- பால்கனியில் (pālkaṉiyil)structure extending from a building
Thai ระเบียง
- ระเบียง (rá-biiang)structure extending from a building
Turkish balkon, balkon
- balkonstructure extending from a building
- balkonstructure overlooking a stage
Ukrainian балко́н
- балко́н (balkón)structure extending from a building
Urdu بالْکَنی
- بالْکَنی (bālkanī)structure extending from a building
Vietnamese ban công
- ban côngstructure extending from a building
Yiddish באַלקן, באַלקאָן
- באַלקן (balkn)structure extending from a building
- באַלקאָן (balkon)structure extending from a building
Cite this entry
balcony. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balcony
“balcony.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balcony. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “balcony,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balcony.
Source: balcony on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.