8 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Ball \Ball\, n. (Baseball)
A pitched ball, not struck at by the batsman, which fails to
pass over the home base at a height not greater than the
batsman's shoulder nor less than his knee.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Ball \Ball\ (b[add]l), n. [OE. bal, balle; akin to OHG. balla,
palla, G. ball, Icel. b["o]llr, ball; cf. F. balle. Cf. 1st
{Bale}, n., {Pallmall}.]
1. Any round or roundish body or mass; a sphere or globe; as,
a ball of twine; a ball of snow.
2. A spherical body of any substance or size used to play
with, as by throwing, knocking, kicking, etc.
3. A general name for games in which a ball is thrown,
kicked, or knocked. See {Baseball}, and {Football}.
4. Any solid spherical, cylindrical, or conical projectile of
lead or iron, to be discharged from a firearm; as, a
cannon ball; a rifle ball; -- often used collectively; as,
powder and ball. Spherical balls for the smaller firearms
are commonly called {bullets}.
5. (Pyrotechnics & Mil.) A flaming, roundish body shot into
the air; a case filled with combustibles intended to burst
and give light or set fire, or to produce smoke or stench;
as, a fire ball; a stink ball.
6. (Print.) A leather-covered cushion, fastened to a handle
called a ballstock; -- formerly used by printers for
inking the form, but now superseded by the roller.
7. A roundish protuberant portion of some part of the body;
as, the ball of the thumb; the ball of the foot.
8. (Far.) A large pill, a form in which medicine is commonly
given to horses; a bolus. --White.
9. The globe or earth. --Pope.
Move round the dark terrestrial ball. --Addison.
{Ball and socket joint}, a joint in which a ball moves within
a socket, so as to admit of motion in every direction
within certain limits.
{Ball bearings}, a mechanical device for lessening the
friction of axle bearings by means of small loose metal
balls.
{Ball cartridge}, a cartridge containing a ball, as
distinguished from a blank cartridge, containing only
powder.
{Ball cock}, a faucet or valve which is opened or closed by
the fall or rise of a ball floating in water at the end of
a lever.
{Ball gudgeon}, a pivot of a spherical form, which permits
lateral deflection of the arbor or shaft, while retaining
the pivot in its socket. --Knight.
{Ball lever}, the lever used in a ball cock.
{Ball of the eye}, the eye itself, as distinguished from its
lids and socket; -- formerly, the pupil of the eye.
{Ball valve} (Mach.), a contrivance by which a ball, placed
in a circular cup with a hole in its bottom, operates as a
valve.
{Ball vein} (Mining), a sort of iron ore, found in loose
masses of a globular form, containing sparkling particles.
{Three balls}, or {Three golden balls}, a pawnbroker's sign
or shop.
Syn: See {Globe}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Ball \Ball\, v. t.
1. (Metal.) To heat in a furnace and form into balls for
rolling.
2. To form or wind into a ball; as, to ball cotton.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Ball \Ball\, n. [F. bal, fr. OF. baler to dance, fr. LL.
ballare. Of uncertain origin; cf. Gr. ? to toss or throw, or
?, ?, to leap, bound, ? to dance, jump about; or cf. 1st
{Ball}, n.]
A social assembly for the purpose of dancing.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Ball \Ball\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Balled} (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
{Balling}.]
To gather balls which cling to the feet, as of damp snow or
clay; to gather into balls; as, the horse balls; the snow
balls.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
ball
n 1: round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games; "the
ball travelled 90 mph on his serve"; "the mayor threw
out the first ball"; "the ball rolled into the corner
pocket"
2: a solid ball shot by a musket; "they had to carry a ramrod
as well as powder and ball" [syn: {musket ball}]
3: an object with a spherical shape; "a ball of fire" [syn: {globe},
{orb}]
4: the people assembled at a lavish formal dance; "the ball was
already emptying out before the fire alarm sounded"
5: one of the two male reproductive glands that produce
spermatozoa and secrete androgens; "she kicked him in the
balls and got away" [syn: {testis}, {testicle}, {orchis},
{ballock}, {bollock}, {nut}, {egg}]
6: a spherical object used as a plaything; "he played with his
rubber ball in the bathtub"
7: United States comedienne best known as the star of a popular
television program (1911-1989) [syn: {Lucille Ball}]
8: a compact mass; "a ball of mud caught him on the shoulder"
[syn: {clod}, {glob}, {lump}, {clump}, {chunk}]
9: a lavish formal dance
10: a more or less rounded anatomical body or mass; ball of the
human foot or ball at the base of the thumb; "he stood on
the balls of his feet"
11: a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of
9 players; teams take turns at bat trying to score run;
"he played baseball in high school"; "there was a
baseball game on every empy lot"; "there was a desire for
National League ball in the area"; "play ball!" [syn: {baseball},
{baseball game}]
12: a pitch that is not in the strike zone; "he threw nine
straight balls before the manager yanked him"
v : form into a ball by winding or rolling; "ball wool"
From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:
Ball, LA (town, FIPS 4055)
Location: 31.41825 N, 92.41005 W
Population (1990): 3305 (1260 housing units)
Area: 20.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
From eng-fra [engfra]:
ball
[bɔːl]
bal
globe
balle
sphère