Balcony
noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 An accessible structure extending from a building, especially outside a window.
"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."
- 2 a platform projecting from the wall of a building and surrounded by a balustrade or railing or parapet wordnet
- 3 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."
- 4 an upper floor projecting from the rear over the main floor in an auditorium wordnet
Example
More examples"Sure enough, the ghost appeared on the balcony."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *balkô Frankish *balkōbor. Medieval Latin balcōbor. Italian balconebor. English balcony 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.
Related phrases
More for "balcony"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.