balcony

noun

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.

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.”

   “The next day as the three travelers were approaching the town, Peter went out on the balcony to pray.”

2. 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.”