Ball (bôl), 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printers for inking the form, but now superseded by the roller.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. 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.
ba`llein to toss or throw, or pa`llein,
pa`llesqai, to leap, bound, balli`zein to dance, jump
about; or cf. 1st Ball, n.] A social assembly
for the purpose of dancing.
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.
Ball, v. i. [imp. & p. p.
Balled (bôld); 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.