5 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Balk \Balk\, n. [AS. balca beam, ridge; akin to Icel. b[=a]lkr
partition, bj[=a]lki beam, OS. balko, G. balken; cf. Gael.
balc ridge of earth between two furrows. Cf. {Balcony},
{Balk}, v. i., 3d {Bulk}.]
1. A ridge of land left unplowed between furrows, or at the
end of a field; a piece missed by the plow slipping aside.
Bad plowmen made balks of such ground. --Fuller.
2. A great beam, rafter, or timber; esp., the tie-beam of a
house. The loft above was called ``the balks.''
Tubs hanging in the balks. --Chaucer.
3. (Mil.) One of the beams connecting the successive supports
of a trestle bridge or bateau bridge.
4. A hindrance or disappointment; a check.
A balk to the confidence of the bold undertaker.
--South.
5. A sudden and obstinate stop; a failure.
6. (Baseball) A deceptive gesture of the pitcher, as if to
deliver the ball.
{Balk line} (Billiards), a line across a billiard table near
one end, marking a limit within which the cue balls are
placed in beginning a game; also, a line around the table,
parallel to the sides, used in playing a particular game,
called the balk line game.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Balk \Balk\, v. i.
1. To engage in contradiction; to be in opposition. [Obs.]
In strifeful terms with him to balk. --Spenser.
2. To stop abruptly and stand still obstinately; to jib; to
stop short; to swerve; as, the horse balks.
Note: This has been regarded as an Americanism, but it occurs
in Spenser's ``Fa["e]rie Queene,'' Book IV., 10, xxv.
Ne ever ought but of their true loves talkt, Ne
ever for rebuke or blame of any balkt.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Balk \Balk\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Balked} (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
{Balking}.] [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.]
1. To leave or make balks in. [Obs.] --Gower.
2. To leave heaped up; to heap up in piles. [Obs.]
Ten thousand bold Scots, two and twenty knights,
Balk'd in their own blood did Sir Walter see.
--Shak.
3. To omit, miss, or overlook by chance. [Obs.]
4. To miss intentionally; to avoid; to shun; to refuse; to
let go by; to shirk. [Obs. or Obsolescent]
By reason of the contagion then in London, we balked
the ?nns. --Evelyn.
Sick he is, and keeps his bed, and balks his meat.
--Bp. Hall.
Nor doth he any creature balk, But lays on all he
meeteth. --Drayton.
5. To disappoint; to frustrate; to foil; to baffle; to
?hwart; as, to balk expectation.
They shall not balk my entrance. --Byron.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Balk \Balk\, v. i. [Prob. from D. balken to bray, bawl.]
To indicate to fishermen, by shouts or signals from shore,
the direction taken by the shoals of herring.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
balk
n 1: the area on a billiard table behind the balkline; "a player
with ball in hand must play from the balk" [syn: {baulk}]
2: something immaterial that interferes with or delays action
or progress [syn: {hindrance}, {deterrent}, {impediment},
{baulk}, {check}, {handicap}]
3: one of several parallel sloping beams that support a roof
[syn: {rafter}, {baulk}]
4: an illegal pitching motion while runners are on base
v : refuse to comply [syn: {resist}, {baulk}, {jib}]