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Webster 1913 Edition

Balk

Balk

(ba̤k)
,
Noun.
[AS.
balca
beam, ridge; akin to Icel.
bālkr
partition,
bjālki
beam, OS.
balko
, G.
balken
; cf. Gael.
balc
ridge of earth between two furrows. Cf.
Balcony
,
Balk
,
Verb.
T.
, 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. It is illegal and is penalized by allowing the runners on base to advance one base.
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

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Balked
(ba̤kt)
;
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.
Shakespeare
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 inns.
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 thwart;
as, to
balk
expectation
.
They shall not
balk
my entrance.
Byron.

Balk

,
Verb.
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
.
☞ This has been regarded as an Americanism, but it occurs in Spenser's “Faërie Queene,” Book IV., 10, xxv.
Ne ever ought but of their true loves talkt,
Ne ever for rebuke or blame of any
balkt
.

Balk

,
Verb.
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.

Webster 1828 Edition

Balk

BALK

,
Noun.
bauk.
1.
A ridge of land, left unplowed, between furrows, or at the end of a field.
2.
A great beam, or rafter.
3.
Any thing left untouched, like a ridge in plowing.
4.
A frustration; disappointment.
18

Definition 2024

balk

balk

English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

balk ‎(plural balks)

  1. An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing.
    • Fuller
      Bad ploughmen made balks of such ground.
  2. (archaeology) the wall of earth at the edge of an excavation
  3. beam, crossbeam
  4. A hindrance or disappointment; a check.
    • South
      a balk to the confidence of the bold undertaker
  5. A sudden and obstinate stop; a failure.
  6. (sports) deceptive motion; feint
    1. (baseball) an illegal motion by the pitcher, intended to deceive a runner
    2. (badminton) motion used to deceive an opponent during a serve
Translations

Verb

balk ‎(third-person singular simple present balks, present participle balking, simple past and past participle balked)

  1. (archaic) To pass over or by.
  2. To omit, miss, or overlook by chance.
  3. (obsolete) To miss intentionally; to avoid; to shun; to refuse; to let go by; to shirk.
    • Evelyn
      By reason of the contagion then in London, we balked the nns.
    • Bishop Hall
      Sick he is, and keeps his bed, and balks his meat.
    • Drayton
      Nor doth he any creature balk, / But lays on all he meeteth.
  4. To stop, check, block.
  5. To stop short and refuse to go on.
    The horse balked.
  6. To refuse suddenly.
  7. To disappoint; to frustrate; to foil; to baffle; to thwart.
    to balk expectation
    • Byron
      They shall not balk my entrance.
  8. To engage in contradiction; to be in opposition.
    • Spenser
      In strifeful terms with him to balk.
  9. To leave or make balks in.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Gower to this entry?)
  10. To leave heaped up; to heap up in piles.
    • Shakespeare
      Ten thousand bold Scots, two and twenty knights, / Balk'd in their own blood did Sir Walter see.
Translations

Etymology 2

Probably from Dutch balken ‎(“to bray, bawl”).

Verb

balk ‎(third-person singular simple present balks, present participle balking, simple past and past participle balked)

  1. To indicate to fishermen, by shouts or signals from shore, the direction taken by the shoals of herring.

References

  1. ↑ “balk” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɑlk

Etymology 1

From Old Dutch *balko, from Proto-Germanic *balkô.

Noun

balk m ‎(plural balken, diminutive balkje n)

  1. beam, support
  2. (mathematics) cuboid

Etymology 2

Verb

balk

  1. first-person singular present indicative of balken
  2. imperative of balken

Swedish

Noun

balk c

  1. a wooden beam
  2. (heraldry) a bend (diagonal band)

Declension

Inflection of balk 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative balk balken balker balkerna
Genitive balks balkens balkers balkernas

Synonyms

Etymology

From Middle English balke, Old English balca, either from or influenced by Old Norse bálkr ‎(“partition, ridge of land”),[1] from Proto-Germanic *balkô. Cognate with German Balken ‎(“balk”), Italian balcone ‎(“balcony”).

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