Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages). Noah Webster
which balks.
Balk¶er (?), n. [See last Balk.] A person who stands on a rock or eminence to espy the shoals of herring, etc., and to give notice to the men in boats which way they pass; a conder; a huer.
Bale¶ingÏly, adv. In manner to balk or frustrate.
Balk¶ish, a. Uneven; ridgy. [R.]
Holinshed.
Balk¶y (?), a. Apt to balk; as, a balky horse.
Ball (?), n. [OE. bal, balle; akin to OHG. balla, palla, G. ball, Icel. b”llr, ball; cf. F. balle. Cf. 1st Bale, n., Pallmall.] 1. Any round or roundish body or mass; a sphere or globe; as, a ball of twine; a ball of snow.
2. A spherical body of any substance or size used to play with, as by throwing, knocking, kicking, etc.
3. A general name for games in which a ball is thrown, kicked, or knocked. See Baseball, and Football.
4. Any solid spherical, cylindrical, or conical projectile of lead or iron, to be discharged from a firearm; as, a cannon ball; a rif?e ball; Ð often used collectively; as, powder and ball. Spherical balls for the smaller firearms are commonly called bullets.
5. (Pirotechnics & Mil.) A flaming, roundish body shot into the air; a case filled with combustibles intended to burst and give light or set fire, or to produce smoke or stench; as, a fire ball; a stink ball.
6. (Print.) A leatherÐcovered cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock; Ð formerly used by printers for inking the form, but now superseded by the roller.
7. A roundish protuberant portion of some part of the body; as, the ball of the thumb; the ball of the foot.
8. (Far.) A large pill, a form in which medicine is commonly given to horses; a bolus.
White.
9. The globe or earth.
Pope.
Move round the dark terrestrial ball.
Addison.
Ball and socket joint, a joint in which a ball moves within a socket, so as to admit of motion in every direction within certain limits. Ð Ball bearings, a mechanical device for lessening the friction of axle bearings by means of small loose metal balls. Ð Ball cartridge, a cartridge containing a ball, as distinguished from a blank cartridge, containing only powder. Ð Ball cock, a faucet or valve which is opened or closed by the fall or rise of a ball floating in water at the end of a lever. Ð Ball gudgeon, a pivot of a spherical form, which permits lateral deflection of the arbor or shaft, while retaining the pivot in its socket. Knight. Ð Ball lever, the lever used in a ball cock. Ð Ball of the eye, the eye itself, as distinguished from its lids and socket; Ð formerly, the pupil of the eye. Ð Ball valve (Mach.), a contrivance by which a ball, placed in a circular cup with a hole in its bottom, operates as a valve. Ð Ball vein (Mining), a sort of iron ore, found in loose masses of a globular form, containing sparkling particles. Ð Three balls, or Three golden balls, a pawnbroker's sign or shop.
Syn.Ð See Globe.
Ball, v.i. [imp. & p.p. Balled (?); p.pr. & vb.n. Balling.] To gather balls which cling to the feet, as of damp snow or clay; to gather into balls; as, the horse balls; the snow balls.
Ball, v.t. 1. (Metal.) To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling.
2. To form or wind into a ball; as, to ball cotton.
Ball, n. [F. bal, fr. OF. baler to dance, fr. LL. ballare. Of uncertain origin; cf. Gr. ? to toss or throw, or ?, ?, to leap, bound, ? to dance, jump about; or cf. 1st Ball, n.] A social assembly for the purpose of dancing.
Bal¶lad (?), n. [OE. balade, OF. balade, F. ballade, fr. Pr. ballada a dancing song, fr. ballare to dance; cf. It. ballata. See 2d Ball, n., and Ballet.] A popular kind of narrative poem, adapted for recitation or singing; as, the ballad of Chevy Chase; esp., a sentimental or romantic poem in short stanzas.
Bal¶lad, v.i. To make or sing ballads. [Obs.]
Bal¶lad, v.t. To make mention of in ballads. [Obs.]
BalÏlade¶ (?), n. [See Ballad, n.] A form of French versification, sometimes imitated in English, in which three or four rhymes recur through three stanzas of eight or ten lines each, the stanzas concluding with a refrain, and the whole poem with an envoy.
Bal¶ladÏer (?), n. A writer of ballads.
Bal¶lad mon·ger (?). [See Monger.] A seller or maker of ballads; a poetaster.
Shak.
Bal¶ladÏry (?), n. [From Ballad, n. ] Ballad poems; the subject or style of ballads. ½Base balladry is so beloved.¸
Drayton.
Bal¶laÏhoo, Bal¶laÏhou } (?), n. A fastÐsailing schooner, used in the Bermudas and West Indies.
Bal¶laÏrag (?), v.i. [Corrupted fr. bullirag.] To bully; to threaten. [Low]
T. Warton.
Bal¶last (?), n. [D. ballast; akin to Dan. baglast, ballast, OSw. barlast, Sw. ballast. The first part is perh. the same word as E. bare, adj.; the second is last a burden, and hence the meaning a bare, or mere, load. See Bare, a., and Last load.] 1. (Naut.) Any heavy substance, as stone, iron, etc., put into the hold to sink a vessel in the water to such a depth as to prevent capsizing.
2. Any heavy matter put into the car of a balloon to give it steadiness.
3. Gravel, broken stone, etc., laid in the bed of a railroad to make it firm and solid.
4. The larger solids, as broken stone or gravel, used in making concrete.
5. Fig.: That which gives, or helps to maintain, uprightness, steadiness, and security.
It [piety] is the right ballast of prosperity.
Barrow.
Ballast engine, a steam engine used in excavating and for digging and raising stones and gravel for ballast. Ð Ship in ballast, a ship carring only ballast.
Bal¶last, v.t. [imp. & p.p. Ballasted; p.pr. & vb.n. Ballasting.] 1. To steady, as a vessel, by putting heavy substances in the hold.
2. To fill in, as the bed of a railroad, with gravel, stone, etc., in order to make it firm and solid.
3. To keep steady; to steady, morally.
'T is charity must ballast the heart.
Hammond.
Bal¶lastÏage (?), n. (Law) A toll paid for the privilege of taking up ballast in a port or harbor.
Bal¶lastÏing, n. That which is used for steadying anything; ballast.
Bal¶laÏtry (?), n. See Balladry. [Obs.]
Milton.
ØBal¶let· (?), n. [F., a dim. of bal dance. See 2d Ball, n.] 1. An artistic dance performed as a theatrical entertainment, or an interlude, by a number of persons, usually women. Sometimes, a scene accompanied by pantomime and dancing.
2. The company of persons who perform the ballet.
3. (Mus.) A light part song, or madrigal, with a fa la burden or chorus, Ð most common with the Elizabethan madrigal composers.
4. (Her.) A bearing in coats of arms, representing one or more balls, which are denominated bezants, plates, etc., according to color.
Ball¶Ïflow·er (?), n. (Arch.) An ornament resembling a ball placed in a circular flower, the petals of which form a cup round it, Ð usually inserted in a hollow molding.
ØBalÏlis¶taÿ(?), n.; pl. Ballist?e (?). [L. ballista, balista, fr. Gr. ? to throw.] An ancient military engine, in the form of a crossbow, used for hurling large missiles.
Bal¶lisÏter (?), n. [L. ballista. Cf. Balister.] A crossbow. [Obs.]
BalÏlis¶tic (?), a. 1. Of or pertaining to the ballista, or to the art of hurling stones or missile weapons by means of an engine.
2. Pertaining to projection, or to a projectile.
Ballistic pendulum, an instrument consisting of a mass of wood or other material