Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Balcony \Bal"co*ny\, n.; pl. {Balconies}. [It. balcone; cf. It.
   balco, palco, scaffold, fr. OHG. balcho, pa?cho, beam, G.
   balken. See {Balk} beam.]
   1. (Arch.) A platform projecting from the wall of a building,
      usually resting on brackets or consoles, and inclosed by a
      parapet; as, a balcony in front of a window. Also, a
      projecting gallery in places of amusement; as, the balcony
      in a theater.

   2. A projecting gallery once common at the stern of large
      ships.

   Note: ``The accent has shifted from the second to the first
         syllable within these twenty years.'' --Smart (1836).