Wiktionary

balk

See also: Balk

EnglishEdit

Etymology 1Edit

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

Alternative formsEdit

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

balk (plural balks)

  1. (agriculture) An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing.
    • 1645, Thomas Fuller, Good Thoughts in Bad Times:
      Bad ploughmen, which made balks of such ground.
  2. (archaeology) The wall of earth at the edge of an excavation.
  3. 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".
  4. A hindrance or disappointment; a check.
    • 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), 6th edition, London: […] J[ames] Bettenham, for Jonah Bowyer, […], published 1727, →OCLC:
      , "Concealment of Sin"
      a balk to the confidence of the bold undertaker
  5. A sudden and obstinate stop.
    Synonym: failure
  6. (obsolete) An omission.
  7. (sports) A deceptive motion.
    Synonym: feint
    1. (baseball) An illegal motion by the pitcher, intended to deceive a runner.
    2. (badminton) A motion used to deceive the opponent during a serve.
  8. (billiards) 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.
  9. (snooker) The area of the table lying behind the baulk line.
  10. (fishing) The rope by which fishing nets are fastened together.
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit

VerbEdit

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.
    Synonyms: miss, overlook
    (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  3. (obsolete) To miss intentionally; to avoid.
    Synonyms: avoid, shun, refuse, shirk
  4. To stop, check, block.
    • 1932, Aldous Huxley, Brave New World‎[1], Chatto & Windus:
      Balked for the second time, the passion of his grief had found another outlet, was transformed into a passion of agonized rage.
  5. To stop short and refuse to go on.
    The horse balked.
  6. To refuse suddenly.
  7. To disappoint; to frustrate.
    Synonyms: frustrate, foil, baffle, thwart
    to balk expectation
  8. To engage in contradiction; to be in opposition.
  9. To leave or make balks in.
  10. To leave heaped up; to heap up in piles.
  11. (sports, intransitive) To make a deceptive motion to deceive another player.
    • 2013, Aaron Wisewell, The Baseball Coach
      The best advice you can receive regarding balking is to always maintain poise and composure on the mound.
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
(archaic in English) to pass over or by — See also translations at pass over,‎ pass by
to omit, miss or overlook by chance — See also translations at omit,‎ miss,‎ overlook
(obsolete in English) to miss intentionally; to avoid — See also translations at miss,‎ avoid
to stop, check, block — See also translations at stop,‎ check,‎ block
to stop short and refuse to go on — See also translations at stop short
to refuse suddenly — See also translations at refuse
to disappoint; to frustrate — See also translations at disappoint,‎ frustrate

Etymology 2Edit

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

VerbEdit

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.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for balk in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913)

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “balk”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

AnagramsEdit

DutchEdit

PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From Middle Dutch balke, from Old Dutch *balco, from Proto-West Germanic *balkō, from Proto-Germanic *balkô.

NounEdit

balk m (plural balken, diminutive balkje n)

  1. A beam, solid support.
  2. (mathematics) A cuboid.
  3. A section, icon et cetera in such rectangular shape.
Derived termsEdit

- beam-shaped

Related termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
  • Afrikaans: balk
  • Negerhollands: balk
  • → Caribbean Javanese: baleg, balok
  • → Javanese: ꦧꦭꦺꦴꦏ꧀ (balok)
  • → Malay: balak
  • → Papiamentu: balki (from the diminutive)
  • → Saramaccan: báíki
  • → Sranan Tongo: barki, balk
    • → Caribbean Hindustani: barki

Etymology 2Edit

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

VerbEdit

balk

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

SwedishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Old Swedish balker, from Old Norse bialki, bǫlkr, from Proto-Germanic *balkuz, from *balkô (“beam, plank”).

NounEdit

balk c

  1. a wooden or metal beam
  2. (heraldry) a bend (diagonal band)
  3. (law) code (major section of legislation)
    brottsbalk
    criminal code

DeclensionEdit

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

SynonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

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