baline 
baline (ba-len'), . [K., packing-cloth; cf. ba- 
lin, winnowing-eloth.] A coarse kind of can- 
vas used for packing. 
balingert (bal'in-jer), n, [< ME. liiiliiii/i f, 
i-iii/i'/; etc., < OF. bati'iii/itr, litilli-iijn; hulrii 
orig. ii whale-ship (= eg, Imli-i-irn, a whaler, ii 
Whale-Ship, = It. Inllrnirril, a pinnace), < btlli-ilir, 
a whale: sec bn/mi.] A small sea-going war- 
vessel in use in the fifteenth ;nnl sixteenth 
centuries, ami supposed to have been a kiml 
of sloop without forecastle. 
In Kchniiiry, 1117, the king possessed six great ships, 
eight Imr^cs, ainl ten /"ifin'tt-i-t.: 
f<ii,i,ia, CiniBt. Hist., 8650. 
baling-press (ba'ling-pres), 11. A power-press 
employed for compressing soft or fibrous ma- 
terials, as raw cotton, hay, and cut ton and 
woolen goods, into bales for transportation. 
balisaur ibal'i-sar), H. [< Hind. bn/iixm; sand- 
hog, < bdlu (Beng. ball), sand, + sur, a hog (cf. 
Skt. sukant, a hog).] The common Indinn 
badger, Antonys mllitrix. of the family Mustc- 
Itilii' and subfamily Mcli/in: u resembles the com- 
mon Kuropran luiil^rr of tin 1 ^cnus Mi'l':*, hut is larger, 
ami is, from its technical characteristics, placed in a 
ilittVivnt genus. It is a true bttdgOj one of several mem- 
hris uf tin- M'-liuri'. See badyer'2. Also spelled balyxaur. 
balise, . See Ixtlixc. 
balista, . See bullista. 
balisterH (bal'is-ter), n. [< ME. bulester, < OF. 
balesticr, < LL. ballistarius, one who makes 
crossbows, a crossbowrnan, < L. bullixta, :i 
crossbow. Cf. areiibaliuter.'] A crossbowman. 
balister-t (bal'is-ter), n. [< OF. balcstre, < ML. 
balistra, a var. of L. ballista, a crossbow (cf. 
ML. balixtariiis areas, a crossbow) : see ballista.] 
An arbalist or crossbow. Also spelled ballister. 
Balistes (ba-lis'tez),w. [NL., < L. balista, bet- 
ter ballista, the military engine ; so called for 
the same reason as they are called trigger-fish : 
^ 
Trigger-fish (Balistet cafrisctts}, 
see def.] A genus of plectognath fishes, typical 
of the family Balistida;, containing such species 
as B. capriscus. They are known as tn'wer-Jish, he- 
cause one large ami sharp ttrst ray of the dorsal fin cannot 
he pressed down until the second ray is depressed, when 
the first shuts down as does the hammer of a gun when the 
trigger is pulled. 
balistid (ba-lis'tid), n. A fish of the family 
lialiatiilir. 
Balistidae (ba-lis'ti-de), n. pi. [NL., < Balistes 
+ -idee.] A family of fishes, typified by the 
genus Balistes, adopted by different authors 
with various limits, (a) In Bonaparte's early system, 
1H32, a family embracing the llalistidte, Triacanthidce, and 
Ogtraciontidix, and thus equivalent to the Sclerodertnes of 
Cuvier. (b) In Bonaparte's later systems (1840, etc.), a fam- 
ily embracing the Baliittida: and Triacanthidce, thus equiv- 
alent to the suborder Sclerodermi of Gill, (c) In Swain- 
son's system, a family including all the plectognath fishes. 
(</) In Gill's system, a family of scleroderm plectognaths 
with reduced rhombiform or more or less spiniform der- 
mal appendages ; a compressed body ; teeth few in number 
and more or less compressed ; a long pelvis, compressed 
and arcuate, with the tip sometimes prominent and some- 
times concealed ; anil no paired ventral tins or spines. 
The species are numerous in tropical and subtropical seas, 
and are divided Into three subfamilies, the aalittiiur, 
M(inafanthlnai,a\\<\Psilocephalince. See these words. Spe- 
cies are known as /n'<7wr-ftWi, jile-fah, etc. 
Balistina (bal-is-ti'nfi,), n. pi. [NL., < Balistes 
+ -ina.~\ In GiinthePs classification of fishes, 
the second group of his family Sclcrodcrnti, iden- 
tical with the family Balistid&of recent authors. 
Balistinae (bal-is-ti'ne), n. pi. [NL., < Balistes 
+ -ilia;.'] 1. A subfamily of balistoid fishes 
having few vertebra (17), an anterior dorsal fin 
consisting of 3 (rarely 2) spines, of which the 
first is enlarged and the second locks it in 
erection, branchial apertures behind the eyes, 
a compressed ovate form, and rhombiform 
Scales. The most common English names of the species 
are Jile-jixh and Iriii'jiT-jixh. The flesh is generally hut 
little esteemed, ami may even he poisonous ; hut in some 
places, as in Bermuda, one of the species of the genus 
llalixtet is highly esteemed and locally called turtiot. The 
skin is used for filing and as a substitute for sandpaper. 
See cut under Ralisteg. 
2. In early systems of classification, a sub- 
family embracing the Balistida; and Triacan- 
420 
Iliiiln; and equivalent to the suborder 
ili-rmi of (fill. 3. In some systems, a subfam- 
ily equivalent to the family BoUlUda of < Jill. 
balistine (ba-lis'tin), . A fish of the subfamily 
Balistina. 
balistoid (Im-lis'tnid), n. and n. |< Hulisii-x + 
-uiil.\ I. a. IVHaining to or having the char- 
acters of the /talixlida: 
II. n. A balistid. 
balistraria (bal-is-tra'ri-il), . [ML., < bHx- 
tra, a form of lialliulu, a crossbow: see bal- 
ixii ;-. 1 1 n nlil j'nrl. : (a) A loophole or aperture 
in tho wall of a fortification, or in a wood- 
en hoarding temporarily put up for defense, 
through which crossbowmen might discharge 
their bolts. See loophole, and compare arcln fin. 
(l>) A room in which balisters or crossbows 
were kept. 
balize, balise (ba-leV), . [< F. &/w- = s p . 
l j g. bttliza, Sp. also balixa, raliza, a beacon, 
buoy, sea-mark; origin unknown.] A sea-mark 
or beacon at the mouth of a river or the en- 
trance to a harbor ; a barrel-buoy, a pole sur- 
mounted by a peculiar flag or other object, etc. 
balk 1 , baulk (bak), . [< ME. balk, balke, < AS. 
l/iili-ii, a ridge, = OS. balco = OFries. balka = 
OD. balke, I), hulk = MLG. balke, a beam, bal- 
ance, corn-loft, LG. balke, corn-loft, = OHG. 
lialclin, btilkn (>It. balco, abeam, ~>balcone, >E. 
balcony, q. v.), MHO. balke, G. balke, balken, a 
beam, bar; also, with diff. formative, AS. bale 
(once), a ridge, = Icel. bdlkr, bolkr = Sw. balk 
= Norw. bulk, bollc, beam, bar, partition, divi- 
sion, = Dan. balk, ridge, partition ; AS. bolca, 
gangway, = Icel. bjdlki = Sw. bjatke, bjelke = 
Dan. bja'lke, a beam ; cf. AS. b(elc, covering ; per- 
haps akin to Gr. ^d/-a> f , a beam, pole, log, trunk, 
block: see phalanx.'] I. A ridge ; especially, a 
ridge left unploweu in the body of a field, or 
between fields ; an uncultivated strip of land 
serving as a boundary, often between pieces of 
ground held by different tenants. The latter use 
originated in the open-field system (which see, under Jield). 
[Common in provincial English and Scotch.] 
Dikercs and delueres digged vp the balkes. 
1'iert 1'lomnan (B), vi. 109. 
Green balks and furrow'd lands. 
COWJKT, Retirement. 
The property consisted of 2,752 acres, which were di- 
vided into 3,509 strips of land set at every possible angle, 
from nine to thirty feet wide and about nine or ten chains 
long, with a grass path called a balk between each. 
Nineteenth Century, XIX. 902. 
2. A piece missed in plowing. Hence 3f. 
An omission ; an exception. 
The mad steele about doth fiercely fly, 
Not sparing wight, ne leaving any balke. 
Spenser, F. Q., VI. xi. 16. 
4. A blunder; a failure or miscarriage: as, to 
make a balk; you have made a bad balk of it. 
[Now chiefly colloq.] Hence 5. luba-se-ball, 
a motion made by the pitcher as if to pitch the 
ball, but without actually doing so. 6f. A 
barrier in one's way; an obstacle or stumbling- 
block. 7. A check or defeat; a disappoint- 
ment. 
A balk to the confidence of the bold undertaker. Smith. 
8. In coal-mining, a more or less sudden thin- 
ning out, for a certain distance, of a bed of 
coal; a nip or want. 9. A beam or piece of 
timber of considerable length and thickness. 
Specifically (a) A cross-beam in the roof of a house which 
unites and supports the rafters ; a tie-beam. In old-fash- 
ioned one-story houses of Scotland, Ireland, and the North 
of England these tie-beams were often exposed, and boards 
or peeled saplings called cabers were laid across them, 
forming a kind of loft often called the balks. From these 
exposed tie-beams or from the calwrs articles were often 
suspended. [Prov. Bug. and Scotch.] 
Tubbes hanging in the balkei. 
Chaucer, Miller's Tale, I. 440. 
The stiffest balk bends more or less ; all joists creak. 
Carlyle, French Rev., II. i. 12. 
(&) Milit., one of the beams connecting the successive sup- 
ports of a trestle-bridge or bateau-bridge, (c) In carji., a 
squared timber, long or short ; a large timber in a frame, 
rtoor, etc. ; a square log. 
10. The beam of a balance. [Obsolete, except 
in dialectal usage.] 1 1. In billiards, the space 
between the cushion of the table and the balk- 
line. A ball inside this space is said to be in 
balk. 12. A long wooden or iron table on 
which paper is laid in the press-room of a print- 
ing-office. 13. A set of stout stakes sur- 
rounded by netting or wickerwork for catching 
fish. N. E. D. [Prov. Eng.] 14. The stout 
rope at the top of fishing-nets by which they 
are fastened one to another in a fleet. [In 
Cornwall, batch.'] N. E. D. 
balk 1 , baulk (bak), F. [< ME. balken, make a 
balk in laud, that is, leave a strip or ridge of 
ball 
land unplowed,< bulk, u ridge: SIT balk 1 , n. Cf. 
Norw. lia/ka, do rlumsy work.J I. tnnix. If. 
To make a balk or ridge in plowing; make a 
ridge in by leaving a strip unplowed. 
To tille a ffldr IIKIM must luivr ilili-nux-, 
And l,alk it not. 
1'alltlilii:*, [Illslpulnllir (K. K. T. S.), p. a 
Hence 2f. To leave untouched generally; 
omit; passover; neglect; shun. 
Balk logic with acquaintance that you li:m>. 
>'/../*-., T. of tin- .S., I 1 
By reason of \* contagion BIMI ill London, we ftmttvtf tilt 
inns. Kn'/i/n, Diary, Oct. 10, n;4I. 
3. To place a balk in the way of; hence, to 
hinder; thwart; frustrate; disappoint. 
My Sin>rt is always l-nlkt, or < nt short I tum)ile over 
the gaiur I would pursm-. fin^ii-' >-, HM I'.ntrhi Inr, iv. S. 
Alike to the riti/.rn ami to the k'^JKlator, IIUMM- rxiirri- 
1'iin-s diiily supply proofs that tin- i-ondiift of human l- 
in^s iialkx cali-ulatioii. //. ,s//.-m-.-<-, sins of Legislators, ii. 
4f. To miss by error or inadvertence. 
YuucannottoiiM-yonritnailMillmut tin- hazard o( drown- 
ing. I'fllliHiii, l.ow Countries (1077), p. 41). (.V. K. 1>.) 
5f. To heap up so as to form a balk or ridge. 
[Rare.] 
'IVn thousand bold Scots, two-and-twi-nty knights, 
Balk'd in their own hlo.nl, did sir Walter gee 
On Holmcdon's plains. ,s'Ai/|-., 1 Ih-n. IV., i. 1. 
[Some editors read bak j <l in this passage.] =syn. 
3. 1-'"H. ritirnrt, i-ti-. S,-, //,</, >.. 
II. iii trans. 1. To stop short in one's course, 
as at a balk or obstacle: as, the horse balked; 
he balked in his speech. 'Spenser. [Obsolete iu 
England, but in common use in the United 
States.] 2f. To quibble; bandy words. 
But to occasion him to further talke, 
To feed her humour with his pleasing style, 
Her list in stryfull termes with him to balkr. 
Spenser, . Q., III. II. 12. 
They do not divide and baulk with God. 
Manton, Works (1653), IV. 227. (JV. B. D.) 
balk 2 (bak), v. i. [Prob. < ME. "balken (not 
found in this sense, but cf. balken, var. of beucen, 
belchen, belch, vociferate), < AS. ba;leian, shout, 
= Fries, balckien = Flem. and D. balken, bawl, 
bray ; cf . Flem. and D. bulken = LG. bolken, 
low, bellow, = G. bolken, blo'ken, bleat, low, 
bellow. The AS. form, which occurs but once 
in this sense, is by some identified with the 
closely related bealcan, or, with an added form- 
ative, bealcettan, belcettan, > ME. balken, belkcn, 
belchen, E. belk, belch, used also, in AS. chiefly, 
like L. eructarc, as a transitive verb, and with- 
out offensive implication, belch out, vociferate, 
utter (words, hymns, etc.) ; so ME. bolken, mod. 
dial, bouk, bokc, bock, etc.: see belch, belk, bolk. 
All these words are prob. based on the same 
imitative root; cf. bawl, bellow, bleat.] To sig- 
nify to fishing-boats the direction taken by the 
shoals of herrings or pilchards, as seen from 
heights overlooking the sea: done at first by 
bawling or shouting, subsequently by signals. 
N. E. D. [Local, Eng.] 
Balkan (bal-kan' or bal'kan), a. [Formerly 
also Balcan; = F. Balcan = G. Balkan, etc., a 
name appar. of Slavic origin.] Of or pertain- 
ing to the Balkans, a mountain-range crossing 
Bulgaria from west to east, or to the peninsula 
embracing European Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, 
Rumania, Servia, and the regions westward to 
the Adriatic. 
balker 1 (bA'ker), n. [< bam, v., + -cri.] One 
who balks, in any sense of the verb. 
balker 2 (ba'ker), n. [< balk* + -eri.] A man 
stationed on a cliff or an eminence to look out 
for shoals of herrings or pilchards, and signal 
the direction taken oy them. [Local, Eng.] 
The pilchards are pursued by a bigger fish, called a 
plusher, who leapeth above water and bewrayeth them to 
the bolter. B. Carew, Survey of Cornwall. 
balkisht (ba'kish), a. [< balk\ n., + -i*A.] 
Furrowy; ridged; uneven. 
That craggy and baltcinh way. 
Stanihurtt, Ded. of Holinshed's Chronicles, II. 
balk-line (bak'lin), n. In billiards, a diagonal 
line cutting off a corner, or a straight line cut- 
ting off a uniform space on each side (generally 
14 inches), from the main field of the table. 
balk-staff (bak'staf), n. A quarter-staff. 
balky (ba'ki), a. [< 6W-l, r., + -y.~\ Given to 
balking; apt to stop abruptly and obstinately 
refuse to move: as, a balky horse. [U. S.] 
ball 1 (bal), n. [Early mod. E. also balle, some- 
times baule, bawle, < ME. bal, ball, balle, either 
from Icel. (see below) or < AS. *beallu or 
*bealla (not found, but evidenced by the dim. 
beallue, E. ballock, lit. a little ball : see bollock) 
= D. bal = Flem. bal, MLG. bal, LG. ball, a 
