Ball

Ball (ba̤l), n. [OE. bal, balle; akin to OHG. balla, palla, G. ball, Icel. böllr, 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cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock; — formerly used by printers for inking the form, but now superseded by the roller.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.

Ball, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Balled (ba̤ld); 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.

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.

Ball, n. [F. bal, fr. OF. baler to dance, fr. LL. ballare. Of uncertain origin; cf. Gr. βάλλειν to toss or throw, or πάλλειν, πάλλεσθαι, to leap, bound, βαλλίζειν to dance, jump about; or cf. 1st Ball, n.] A social assembly for the purpose of dancing.