bale (2)

[In Sw. bal; Icel. böllr; Dan. balle; Ger. ball, balle, ballen; M. H. Ger. bal, balle; O. H. Ger. ball a , palla , pallo ; Fr. balle ; O. Fr. bale ; Prov. ball a ; Sp. & Port. bal a ; Ital. ball a ; Low Lat. ball a, bal a = a bale, a ball.] [BALL.] 1. A package or certain quantity of goods or merchandise, wrapped or packed up in cloth, and corded round very tightly, marked and numbered with figures corresponding to those in the bills of lading for the purpose of identification. "Every day ten or twelve bales of parchment covered with the signatures of a ociators were laid at his feet."-Macaulay: Hist. Eng . , ch. xxi. he most frequent object being a bullock waggon piled up with bales of wool."-Darwin: Voyage round the World, ch. xix. * 2. A pair of dice. "It is a false die of the same bale , but not the same cut."-Over bury: Charact., sign. Q. 2. "For exercise of arms a bale of dice." B. Jonson: New Inn, 1. 1. bale-goods, s. pl . Goods done up in bales.