balk
UK /bɔːk/ · US /bɔk/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms balks balking balked baulk
- noun (agriculture) An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing.
- noun (archaeology) The wall of earth at the edge of an excavation.
- noun 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".
- noun A hindrance or disappointment; a check.
- noun A sudden and obstinate stop.
- noun (obsolete) An omission.
- noun (baseball) An illegal motion by the pitcher, intended to deceive a runner.
- noun (badminton) A motion used to deceive the opponent during a serve.
- verb To be unwilling to do something; to refuse to proceed or do or allow something, either in general or only temporarily.
- verb (especially of a horse, mule, etc) To stop short and refuse to go on or do something (such as jump). “The horse balked.”
- verb To move fitfully, stopping frequently.
- verb To leave or make a balk or balks (ridges) in; to leave a ridge in by leaving partly unploughed.
- verb To stop, check, block (by or as if by an obstacle); to hinder, impede, thwart.
- verb (possibly obsolete) To leave heaped up; to heap up in piles.
- verb (possibly obsolete) To pass over or by (either by chance or intentionally); to avoid in passing.
- verb (possibly obsolete) To omit, miss, or overlook by chance, error, or inadvertance.
- noun (UK dialectal) A small brass ornament fixed at the top of a wand.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
failure feint jib miss overlook avoid shun refuse shirk frustrate foil baffle thwart baulk hindrance hinderance deterrent impediment check handicap rafter resist
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.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A ridge of land left unplowed between furrows, or at the end of a field; a piece missed by the plow slipping aside.
- noun A great beam, rafter, or timber; esp., the tie-beam of a house.
- verb To leave or make balks in. [Obs.] Gower.
- verb To leave heaped up; to heap up in piles. [Obs.]
Etymology [AS. balca beam, ridge; akin to Icel. balkr partition, bjalki beam, OS. balko, G. balken; cf. Gael. balc ridge of earth between two furrows. Cf. Balcony, Balk, v. i., 3d Bulk.]
Etymology [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.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “balk”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details