BALE. (I) Evil, suffering, a word obsolete except in poetry, and more common in the adjectival form "baleful." In early poetry, used in antithesis to "bliss"; (2) a bonfire, a northern English use more common in "bale-fire"; (3) in industry, a bundle or package of material, bound in canvas with bands of metal or other hoops. The size and weight of a bale varies with the custom of different trades. A bale of American cotton weighs 500 lbs. ; of Egyptian cotton 700 lbs. (4) More correctly "bail," to empty water out of a boat by means of a bail or bucket.