An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Balken

by Friedrich Kluge

Balken. m., ‘beam, baulk, loft,’ from the equiv. MidHG. balke, OHG. balcho, m.; comp. AS. balca, E. baulk, Du. balk, ‘baulk'; in Scand. beside the corresponding bálkr, ‘fence, boundary-line,’ there occurs with a different gradation bijálk-, ‘baulk' (Goth. *bilka), in AS. likewise bolca, ‘gangway’ (Goth. *bulka). From Teut. balkon, Fr. balcon and Ital. balco are derived. The Aryan form of the root is bhalg, hence Gr. (φάλαγξ, φάλαγγ-ος, ‘oval piece of wood, trunk of a tree,’ has been compared with it, but the nasal of the second syllable renders the comparison dubious.