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balk

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balk

 

  5  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Balk  \Balk\,  n.  [AS.  balca  beam,  ridge;  akin  to  Icel.  b[=a]lkr 
  partition,  bj[=a]lki  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  tie-beam  of  a 
  house.  The  loft  above  was  called  ``the  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. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Balk  \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. 
 
  Note:  This  has  been  regarded  as  an  Americanism,  but  it  occurs 
  in  Spenser's  ``Fa["e]rie  Queene,''  Book  IV.,  10,  xxv. 
 
  Ne  ever  ought  but  of  their  true  loves  talkt,  Ne 
  ever  for  rebuke  or  blame  of  any  balkt. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Balk  \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. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Balk  \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. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  balk 
  n  1:  one  of  several  parallel  sloping  beams  that  support  a  roof 
  [syn:  {rafter},  {baulk}] 
  2:  an  illegal  pitching  motion  while  runners  are  on  base 
  v  :  refuse  to  comply  [syn:  {resist},  {baulk},  {jib}]




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