Balcony: The Platform That Hangs Off a Wall
A balcony is a railed platform projecting from an upper wall, or the raised seating at the back of a theatre. The word came into English from Italian, along with the architecture.
A balcony juts out from a building above ground level, enclosed by a rail or wall. It gives a view without giving ground. Theatres borrowed the word for their upper tier, so the same noun covers both a place to stand and a place to sit.
- A platform on an upper floor. *We had breakfast on the balcony.*
- Upper seating in a theatre or cinema. *Two seats in the balcony.*
- A ceremonial platform for appearances. *The crowd waited below the balcony.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | balcony | A small balcony. |
| Plural | balconies | Flats with balconies. |
| Adjective | balconied | A balconied facade. |
| Related | terrace | A roof terrace. |
| Related | veranda | A shaded veranda. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The room has a balcony overlooking the harbour.Overlooking is the usual companion verb.
- He stepped out onto the balcony for air.Onto, because you move out and up onto a surface.
- We sat in the balcony, far from the stage.In, not on, when it is theatre seating.
Balcony, terrace, veranda and patio
- Balcony — projects from an upper wall, small, railed
- Terrace — a flat open area, often on a roof or cut into a slope
- Veranda — roofed and attached, usually at ground level
- Patio — paved and open, always on the ground
From Italian *balcone*, from a Germanic word for a beam or scaffold. English took it in the seventeenth century and for a while stressed the second syllable, bal-CO-ny, which is why old verse sometimes scans oddly to modern ears.
Is a Juliet balcony a real balcony?
Barely. It is a railing across a full-height window with no floor to stand on, named after the scene in Shakespeare.
On the balcony or in the balcony?
On for the platform of a building, in for the seating tier of a theatre.