Balk
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing.
"How fruitfull are the ſeeming Barren places of Scripture. Bad Plow-men, which make Balkes of ſuch Ground."
- 2 A small brass ornament fixed at the top of a wand. UK, dialectal
- 3 an illegal pitching motion while runners are on base wordnet
- 4 The wall of earth at the edge of an excavation.
- 5 one of several parallel sloping beams that support a roof wordnet
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- 6 Beam, crossbeam; squared timber; a tie beam of a house, stretching from wall to wall, especially when laid so as to form a loft, "the balks".
- 7 something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress wordnet
- 8 A hindrance or disappointment; a check.
", "Concealment of Sin" a balk to the confidence of the bold undertaker"
- 9 the area on a billiard table behind the balkline wordnet
- 10 A sudden and obstinate stop.
- 11 An omission. obsolete
- 12 A deceptive motion.; An illegal motion by the pitcher, intended to deceive a runner.
- 13 A deceptive motion.; A motion used to deceive the opponent during a serve.
- 14 The area of the table lying behind the line from which the cue ball is initially shot, and from which a ball in hand must be played.
- 15 The area of the table lying behind the baulk line.
- 16 The rope by which fishing nets are fastened together.
- 1 To pass over or by. archaic
- 2 refuse to comply wordnet
- 3 To omit, miss, or overlook by chance.
- 4 To miss intentionally; to avoid. obsolete
"Sick he is, and keeps his bed, and balks his meat."
- 5 To stop, check, block; to hinder, impede.
"Balked for the second time, the passion of his grief had found another outlet, was transformed into a passion of agonized rage."
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- 6 To stop short and refuse to go on.
"The horse balked."
- 7 To refuse suddenly.
"Real affection, it seemed, he could not have for me; it had been only fitful passion: that was balked; he would want me no more"
- 8 To disappoint; to frustrate.
"to balk expectation"
- 9 To engage in contradiction; to be in opposition.
"Her list in strifull termes with him to balke"
- 10 To leave or make balks in.
"But so well halt no man the plough, / That he ne balketh other while"
- 11 To leave heaped up; to heap up in piles.
"Ten thousand bold Scots, two and twenty knights, / Balk'd in their own blood did Sir Walter see."
- 12 To make a deceptive motion to deceive another player. intransitive
"The best advice you can receive regarding balking is to always maintain poise and composure on the mound."
- 1 A surname.
Example
More examples"RushmoreDrive.Com President and CEO Johnny Taylor is pleased with the feedback he's gotten since the website's launch early this year. Still, some critics balk at the idea of a race-based search engine. Isn't that "discrimination," they ask? Taylor's response: diversity is a cornerstone of the American marketplace."
Etymology
From Middle English balke, from Old English balca, either from or influenced by Old Norse bálkr (“partition, ridge of land”), from Proto-Germanic *balkô. Cognate with Dutch balk (“balk”), German Balken (“balk”), Italian balcone (“balcony”).
From Middle English balok, ballok (“knob”), from Old English bealluc (“testicle”, literally “little ball”). Doublet of ballock and bollocks.