Chapter 15

Bale (?), n. [AS. bealo, bealu, balu; akin to OS. ?alu, OHG. balo, Icel. b”l, Goth. balweins.] 1. Misery; ?alamity; misfortune; sorrow. Let now your bliss be turned into bale. Spenser. 2. Evil; an evil, pernicious influence; something causing great injury. [Now chiefly poetic] Bal·eÏar¶ic (?), a. [L. Balearicus, fr. Gr. ? the Balearic Islands.] Of or pertaining to the isles of Majorca, Minorca, Ivica, etc., in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Valencia. Balearic crane. (Zo”l.) See Crane. BaÏleen¶ (?), n. [F. baleine whale and whalibone, L. balaena a whale; cf. Gr. ?. ] (Zo”l. & Com.) Plates or blades of ½whalebone,¸ from two to twelve feet long, and sometimes a foot wide, which in certain whales (Bal‘noidea) are attached side by side along the upper jaw, and form a fringelike sieve by which the food is retained in the mouth. Bale¶fire· (?), n. [AS. b?lj?r the fire of the ?uneral pile; b?l fire, flame (akin to Icel. b¾l, OSlav. b?l?, white, Gr. ? bright, white, Skr. bh¾la brightness) + f?r, E. fire.] A signal fire; an alarm fire. Sweet Teviot! on thy silver tide The glaring balefires blaze no more. Sir W. Scott. Bale¶ful (?), a. [AS. bealoful. See Bale misery.] 1. Full of deadly or pernicious influence; destructive. ½Baleful enemies.¸ Shak. Four infernal rivers that disgorge Into the burning lake their baleful streams. Milton. 2. Full of grief or sorrow; woeful; sad. [Archaic] Bale¶fulÏly, adv. In a baleful manner; perniciously. Bale¶fulÏness, n. The quality or state of being baleful. ØBal¶iÏsa·ur (?), n. [Hind.] (Zo”l.) A badgerlike animal of India (Arcionyx collaris). Bal¶isÏter (?), n. [OF. balestre. See Ballista.] A crossbow. [Obs.] Blount. Bal¶isÏtoid (?), a. (Zo”l.) Like a fish of the genus Balistes; of the family Balistid‘. See Filefish. ØBal·isÏtra¶riÏa (?), n. [LL.] (Anc. Fort.) A narrow opening, often cruciform, through which arrows might be discharged. ØBaÏlize¶ (?), n. [F. balise; cf. Sp. balisa.] A pole or a frame raised as a sea beacon or a landmark. Balk (?), n. [AS. balca beam, ridge; akin to Icel. b¾lkr partition, bj¾lki beam, OS. balko, G. balken; cf. Gael. balc ridge of earth between two furrows. Cf. Balcony, Balk, v.i., 3d Bulk.] 1. A ridge of land left unplowed between furrows, or at the end of a field; a piece missed by the plow slipping aside. Bad plowmen made balks of such ground. Fuller. 2. A great beam, rafter, or timber; esp., the tieÐbeam ?f a house. The loft above was called ½the balks.¸ Tubs hanging in the balks. Chaucer. 3. (Mil.) One of the beams connecting the successive supports of a trestle bridge or bateau bridge. 4. A hindrance or disappointment; a check. A balk to the confidence of the bold undertaker. South. 5. A sudden and obstinate stop; a failure. 6. (Baseball) A deceptive gesture of the pitcher, as if to deliver the ball. Balk line (Billiards), a line across a billiard table near one end, marking a limit within which the cue balls are placed in beginning a game; also, a line around the table, parallel to the sides, used in playing a particular game, called the balk line game. Balk, v.t. [imp. & p.p. Balked (?); p.pr. & vb.n. Balking.] [From Balk a beam; orig. to put a balk or beam in one's way, in order to stop or hinder. Cf., for sense 2, AS. on balcan legan to lay in heaps.] 1. To leave or make balks in. [Obs.] Gower. 2. To leave heaped up; to heap up in piles. [Obs.] Ten thousand bold Scots, two and twenty knights, Balk'd in their own blood did Sir Walter see. Shak. 3. To omit, miss, or overlook by chance. [Obs.] 4. To miss intentionally; to avoid; to shun; to refuse; to let go by; to shirk. [Obs. or Obsolescent] By reason of the contagion then in London, we balked the ?nns. Evelyn. Sick he is, and keeps his bed, and balks his meat. Bp. Hall. Nor doth he any creature balk, But lays on all he meeteth. Drayton. 5. To disappoint; to frustrate; to foil; to baffle; to ?hwart; as, to balk expectation. They shall not balk my entrance. Byron. Balk, v.i. 1. To engage in contradiction; to be in opposition. [Obs.] In strifeful terms with him to balk. Spenser. 2. To stop abruptly and stand still obstinately; to jib; to stop short; to swerve; as, the horse balks. µ This has been regarded as an Americanism, but it occurs in Spenser's ½Fa‰rie Queene,¸ Book IV., 10, xxv. Ne ever ought but of their true loves talkt, Ne ever for rebuke or blame of any balkt. Balk, v.i. [Prob. from D. balken to bray, bawl.] To indicate to fishermen, by shouts or signals from shore, the direction taken by the shoals of herring. Balk¶er (?), n. [See 2d Balk.] One who, or that 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 suspended as a pendulum, for measuring the force and velocity of projectiles by means of the arc through which their impact impels it. BalÏlis¶tics (?), n. [Cf. F. balistique. See Ballista.] The science or art of hurling missile weapons by the use of an engine. Whewell. ØBal¶liÏumÿ(?),n. [LL.] See Bailey. BalÏloon¶ÿ(?), n. [F. ballon, aug. of balle ball: cf. It. ballone. See 1st Ball, n., and cf. Pallone.] 1. A bag made of silk or other light material, and filled with hydrogen gas or heated air, so as to rise and float in the atmosphere; especially, one with a car attached for a‰rial navigation. 2. (Arch.) A ball or globe on the top of a pillar, church, etc., as at St. Paul's, in London. [R.] 3. (Chem.) A round vessel, usually with a short neck, to hold or receive whatever is distilled; a glass vessel of a spherical form. 4. (Pyrotechnics) A bomb or shell. [Obs.] 5. A game played with a large inf?ated ball. [Obs.] 6. (Engraving) The outline inclosing words represented as coming from the mouth of a pictured figure. Air balloon, a balloon for a‰rial navigation. Ð Balloon frame (Carp.), a house frame constructed altogether of small timber. Ð Balloon net, a variety of woven lace in which the weft threads are twisted in a peculiar manner around the warp. BalÏloon¶, v.t. To take up in, or as if in, a balloon. BalÏloon¶, v.i. 1. To go up or voyage in a balloon. 2. To expand, or puff out, like a balloon. BalÏlooned¶ (?),a. Swelled out like a balloon. BalÏloon¶er (?), n. One who goes up in a balloon; an a‰ronaut. BalÏloon¶ fish· (?). (Zo”l.) A fish of the genus Diodon or the genus Tetraodon, having the power of distending its body by taking air or water into its dilatable esophagus. See Globefish, and Bur fish. BalÏloon¶ing, n. 1. The art or practice of managing balloons or voyaging in them. 2. (Stock Exchange) The process of temporarily raising the value of a stock, as by fictitious sales. [U.S.] BalÏloon¶ing spi¶der (?). (Zo”l.) A spider which has the habit of rising into the air. Many kinds ( esp. species of Lycosa) do this while young by ejecting threads of silk until the force of the wind upon them carries the spider aloft. BalÏloon¶ist, n. An a‰ronaut. BalÏloon¶ryÿ(?), n. The art or practice of ascending in a balloon; a‰ronautics. Bal¶lot (?), n. [F. ballotte, fr. It. ballotta. See Ball round body.] 1. Originally, a ball used for secret voting. Hence: Any printed or written ticket used in voting. 2. The act of voting by balls or written or printed ballots or tickets; the system of voting secretly by balls or by tickets. The insufficiency of the ballot. Dickens.

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