Spelling bale

[hollyc]

Dear Orchid,

I have a super silly but nagging question: Is the proper spelling
for the piece on a pendant which a chain threads through bale, or
bail? I see it listed both ways on different websites, but no
dictionary I have access to seems to have the last word. It’s
slightly maddening. Does anyone have an authoritative answer? Many
thanks!

Hollyc@amberjewelry.com
www.amberjewelry.com
Design/Sales

[Pat_Waddington]

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the correct spelling is
’bail’, meaning a ring or half-hoop used for suspending something.
The spelling ‘bale’ refers to a volumetric description as in ‘bale of
straw’.

Pat
Semiprec - beautiful jewellery
www.semiprec.com

[edlap]

Look at these 2 links for an answer to your spelling question.Ed

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=BALE

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=BAIL

[Gary_Bourbonais]

Hi Holly…

A “bale” is a bundle of something…
like a bale of hay,
or a bale of cotton…
In terms of a pendant,
it seems misbegotten…

A “bail”, in the sense of a mechanical appurtenance…well… think
of the bail of a pail…

and you get the idea…something hangs from it…

Good grief…was almost running poetic there……

Gary W. Bourbonais

[songofthephoenix]

Hi Holly.

Don’t guarantee authority but I read that “bail” may be derived from
a Scandinavian word meaning “bow” - something bent into a simple
curve. Some meanings offered in my very old Webster’s Collegiate
dictionary:

--a supporting half hoop
--the usually arched handle of a kettle or pail 

“Carrying” the right spelling in my memory is easy when I picture
the bail of a pail.

HTH
Pam Chott
Song of the Phoenix

[jeranor]

Holly, A bail goes on a pendant, a bale is what hay comes in. Check
whatever findings catalog you have. I used Stullers.

Jerry in Kodiak