balance

Etymology

PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English balaunce, from Old French balance, from Late Latin *bilancia, from (accusative form of) Latin bilanx (“two-scaled”), from bi- + lanx (“plate, scale”).

noun

1. (uncountable) A state in which opposing forces harmonise; equilibrium.
   But civilized man is quite a different animal, and when he wipes out an entire city or levels a forest, he is no longer working within the natural balance of things. 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 196
2. (uncountable) Mental equilibrium; mental health; calmness, a state of remaining clear-headed and unperturbed.
3. (literally or figurative) Something of equal weight used to provide equilibrium; counterweight.
   These weights are used as a balance for the overhanging verandah
   Blair thought he could provide a useful balance to Bush's policies.
4. A pair of scales.
5. (uncountable) Awareness of both viewpoints or matters; neutrality; rationality; objectivity.
6. (uncountable) The overall result of conflicting forces, opinions etc.; the influence which ultimately "weighs" more than others.
   The balance of power finally lay with the Royalist forces.
   I think the balance of opinion is that we should get out while we're ahead.
   The shift in the balance of power online has allowed anyone to publish to the world, from dispirited teenagers in south London to an anonymous cyber-dissident in a Middle East autocracy. April 19, 2012, Josh Halliday, “Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?”, in the Guardian
7. (uncountable) Apparent harmony in art (between differing colours, sounds, etc.).
8. (accounting) A list accounting for the debits on one side, and for the credits on the other.
9. (accounting) The result of such a procedure; the difference between credit and debit of an account.
   I just need to nip to a bank and check my balance.
10. (watchmaking) A device used to regulate the speed of a watch, clock etc.
11. (law, business) The remainder.
    The balance of the agreement remains in effect.
    The invoice said he had only paid $50. The balance was $220.
12. (obsolete, astrology) Libra.

verb

1. (transitive) To bring (items) to an equipoise, as the scales of a balance by adjusting the weights.
2. (transitive, figurative) To make (concepts) agree.
   2014, Peter Melville Logan, Olakunle George, Susan Hegeman, The Encyclopedia of the Novel' the Proteus Principle helps to qualify and balance the concepts of narrators and of narrative situations as previously developed in classical studies by G erard Genette and Franz Stanzel.
3. (transitive) To hold (an object or objects) precariously; to support on a narrow base, so as to keep from falling.
   I balanced my mug of coffee on my knee.
   The circus performer balances a plate on the end of a baton.
4. (transitive) To compare in relative force, importance, value, etc.; to estimate.
   Mr. Morrison's ruling to reopen the station as a shelter was given after he had balanced the relative dangers of flooding and bombing. 1941 September, Charles E. Lee, “Sheltering in London Tube Stations”, in Railway Magazine, page 389
5. (transitive, dance) To move toward, and then back from, reciprocally.
   to balance partners
6. (nautical) To contract, as a sail, into a narrower compass.
   to balance the boom mainsail
7. (transitive) To make the credits and debits of (an account) correspond.
   This final payment, or credit, balances the account.
   to balance a set of books
8. (intransitive) To be in equilibrium.
9. (intransitive) To have matching credits and debits.
10. (transitive, obsolete) To weigh in a balance.
11. (intransitive, obsolete) To hesitate or fluctuate.