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English
Commons
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
A basketball
From Middle English bal , ball , balle , from an unattested Old English *beall , *bealla ( “ round object, ball ” ) or Old Norse bǫllr ( “ a ball ” ) , both from Proto-Germanic *balluz , *ballô ( “ ball ” ) , from Proto-Indo-European *bʰol-n- ( “ ball, bubble ” ) , from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ( “ to blow, inflate, swell ” ) . Cognate with Old Saxon ball , Dutch bal , Old High German bal , ballo (German Ball ( “ ball ” ) ; Ballen ( “ bale ” ) ). Related forms in Romance are borrowings from Germanic. See also balloon , bale .
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Noun
ball (countable and uncountable , plural balls )
A solid or hollow sphere , or roughly spherical mass.
a ball of spittle; a fecal ball
A quantity of string, thread, etc., wound into a spherical shape.
a ball of wool; a ball of twine
( mathematics ) Homologue or analogue of a disk in the Euclidean plane .
( mathematics ) In 3-dimensional Euclidean space, the volume bounded by a sphere .
( mathematics ) The set of points in a metric space of any number of dimensions lying within a given distance (the radius ) of a given point.
( mathematics ) The set of points in a topological space lying within some open set containing a given point.
( ballistics, firearms ) A solid, spherical nonexplosive missile for a cannon, rifle, gun, etc.
A jacketed non-expanding bullet, typically of military origin.
( uncountable , obsolete ) Such bullets collectively.
1803 , Robert Charles Dallas , The History of the Maroons , London: Longman and Rees, Volume 1, Letter 5, p. 148:[ …] some headstrong Maroons were using a soldier of Captain Craskell’s ill, and compelling him to write to his commander, that it was too late to do any thing good, and that they wanted nothing, having got plenty of powder and ball [ …]
A roundish, protuberant portion of some part of the body.
the ball of the thumb
( anatomy ) The front of the bottom of the foot , just behind the toes.
The globe ; the earthly sphere.
( sports , countable ) An object that is the focus of many sports and games, in which it may be thrown, caught, kicked, bounced, rolled, chased, retrieved, hit with an instrument, spun, etc., usually roughly spherical or ovoid but whose size, weight, bounciness, colour, etc. differ according to the game
1922 , Michael Arlen , “3/19/2 ”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days :Ivor had acquired more than a mile of fishing rights with the house; he was not at all a good fisherman, but one must do something; one generally, however, banged a ball with a squash-racket against a wall.
2011 October 2, Aled Williams, “Swansea 2-0 Stoke ”, in BBC Sport Wales :Graham secured victory with five minutes left, coolly lifting the ball over Asmir Begovic.
( uncountable ) Any sport or game involving a ball; its play, literally or figuratively.
The children were playing ball on the beach.
George played his college ball at Stanford.
( baseball , countable ) A pitch that falls outside of the strike zone .
( pinball , countable ) An opportunity to launch the pinball into play.
If you get to a million points, you get another ball .
( cricket , countable ) A single delivery by the bowler , six of which make up an over .
( originally soccer , countable ) a kick (or hit in e.g. field hockey) of the ball towards where one or more teammates is expected to be. (Distinguished from a pass by a longer distance travelled or less specific target point.[ 1] )
2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1-0 Bolton ”, in BBC :After Essien's poor attempt flew into the stands, Rodrigo Moreno—Bolton's on-loan winger from Benfica who was making his full Premier League debut—nearly exposed the Blues with a lovely ball for Johan Elmander, but it just skipped away from his team-mate's toes.
2014 October 21, Jim Tait, “Hockey girls through to next round”, in Shetland Times :Shetland increased the lead in the 22nd minute when Kirkness shot first time from a ball that was fired into the area from outside the 25-metre line.
2019 , Robbie Fowler, My Life In Football: Goals, Glory & The Lessons I've Learnt , Kings Road Publishing, →ISBN :Mark Wright sent a speculative ball for me to chase after and I found myself leaving Tony Adams in my wake, with only Seaman to beat.
( mildly vulgar , slang , usually in the plural ) A testicle .
( in the plural ) Nonsense .
That’s a load of balls , and you know it!
( in the plural ) Courage .
I doubt he’s got the balls to tell you off.
( printing , historical ) A leather-covered cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock ; formerly used by printers for inking the form, then superseded by the roller .
( farriery , historical ) A large pill , a form in which medicine was given to horses; a bolus .
1842 , James White, A compendium of the veterinary art :The laxative alterative has not this advantage, the aloes, of which it is composed, being extremely bitter, and therefore requiring to be given in the form of a ball .
( slang , countable , uncountable , singular only) One thousand US dollars .
2022 July 22, “Convict Life (Wanna Be Alone)”, YoungBoy Never Broke Again (lyrics) :I'ma let these niggas have it, go on stage and throw a forty ball
2022 September 16, “Hands on the Floor” (track 4, 0:40 from the start), in Su'Lan (lyrics), Forever Da Gang :Forty ball all in these leather jeans Diamonds studs, I make a bum nigga think twice
2022 November 23, “10PM in ATL” (track 2), in GoldenBoy Countup (lyrics), Chill :Forty ball on my wrist, nigga, I cashed out on it (Damn) Forty bands on my neck, nigga, I maxed out on it (Damn)
2022 November 25, “Gallery” (track 6), in OhGeesy (lyrics), GEEZYWORLD 2 :Dropped a twenty ball in Gallery Department
Synonyms
Derived terms
( testicle ) :
Descendants
Translations
solid or hollow sphere
Aleut: miichix̂
Apache:
Western Apache: joołé
Arabic: كُرَة f ( kura ) , كُبَّة f ( kubba )
Egyptian Arabic: كورة f ( kōra )
Hijazi Arabic: كورة f ( kūra )
Iraqi Arabic: طوبة f ( ṭōḅa )
North Levantine Arabic: طابة f ( ṭābe ) , كورة f ( kūra )
South Levantine Arabic: طابة f ( ṭābe ) , كورة f ( kūra )
Armenian: գունդ (hy) ( gund )
Asturian: pelota (ast) f
Azerbaijani: şar (az) , top (az)
Bashkir: шар ( şar ) , туп ( tup )
Belarusian: шар m ( šar )
Bengali: গোলা (bn) ( gōla )
Bulgarian: кълбо́ (bg) n ( kǎlbó )
Burmese: အလုံး (my) ( a.lum: )
Catalan: bola (ca) f
Central Franconian: Ball m
Chechen: горгале ( gorgale ) , буьрк ( bürk )
Cherokee: ᏍᏆᏞᏍᏗ ( squatlesdi )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 球 (zh) ( qiú )
Czech: koule (cs) f
Dalmatian: buola f
Dutch: bol (nl) m
Egyptian: (pꜣḏ )
Esperanto: globo (eo) , sfero
Estonian: pall (et)
Finnish: pallo (fi)
French: balle (fr) f , boule (fr) f
Galician: bóla (gl) f
Georgian: სფერო ( spero )
German: Kugel (de) f , Ball (de) m ( naut. )
Greek: σφαίρα (el) f ( sfaíra )
Ancient: σφαῖρα f ( sphaîra )
Gujarati: દડો (gu) ( daḍo )
Hausa: dunkulen
Hawaiian: pōkā , poepoe
Hebrew: כַּדּוּר (he) m ( kadúr )
Hindi: गोला (hi) f ( golā )
Hungarian: golyó (hu) ( small, hard ball ) , labda (hu) ( medium-sized, usually hollow ball ) , gömb (hu) ( sphere, large ball )
Icelandic: kúla (is) f
Indonesian: bola (id)
Ingrian: šaara
Irish: meall
Italian: palla (it) f
Japanese: 玉 (ja) ( たま, tama ) , 球 (ja) ( きゅう, kyū )
Kazakh: доп (kk) ( dop ) , шар (kk) ( şar )
Khmer: គោល (km) ( kool )
Kikuyu: mũbira class 3
Korean: 공 (ko) ( gong ) , 구(球) (ko) ( gu )
Kyrgyz: шар (ky) ( şar ) , топ (ky) ( top )
Lao: ບານ ( bān )
Latgalian: komuļs , bumbuļs
Latin: globus (la) m , pila (la) f
Latvian: lode f , bumba f
Lezgi: туп ( tup )
Limburgish: bal (li) m , bol (li) m
Lithuanian: kamuolys m
Lombard: balla (lmo) f
Luganda: omupiira , omupiira
Lushootseed: sbəkʷ
Macedonian: топка (mk) f ( topka ) , сфера f ( sfera )
Makah: ba·la
Malay: bola (ms) , korah
Malayalam: ഗോളം (ml) ( gōḷaṁ )
Maltese: ballun m
Manchu: ᠮᡠᠮᡠᡥᡠ ( mumuhu )
Manx: bluckan m
Marathi: गोळा m ( goḷā )
Mongolian: бөмбөг (mn) ( bömbög )
Navajo: please add this translation if you can
Northern Altai: тоф ( tof )
Norwegian:
Bokmål: ball (no) m
Nynorsk: ball m
Old English: þōþor m , clīewen n
Old Gujarati: दडउ ( daḍaü )
Old Norse: knǫttr , bǫllr
Paiwan: mali
Pashto: ټوپکی (ps) m ( ṭupakai ) , پنډوس (ps) m ( pənḍus )
Persian: کره (fa) ( kore ) , گوی (fa) ( guy )
Plautdietsch: Baul m
Polish: kula (pl) f
Portuguese: bola (pt) f
Romanian: minge (ro) , bilă (ro)
Russian: шар (ru) m ( šar ) ( usually solid ) , сфе́ра (ru) f ( sféra ) ( usually hollow )
Sanskrit: गुड (sa) m ( guḍa ) , पिण्ड (sa) m ( piṇḍa ) , गोला (sa) m ( golā )
Scots: baw
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: лопта f
Roman: lopta (sh) f
Sicilian: baḍḍa f
Sinhalese: බෝලය (si) ( bōlaya )
Slovak: guľa f , lopta f
Slovene: žoga (sl) f , krogla (sl) f
Southern Altai: топ ( top ) , шар ( šar )
Spanish: bola (es) f , esfera (es) f
Swahili: mpira (sw) class 3 /4
Swedish: boll (sv) c ( soft and/or hollow ) , klot (sv) n ( mainly hard and/or solid ) , kula (sv) ( solid, hard and small )
Tagalog: bola (tl)
Tajik: кура ( kura )
Taos: pùohóna
Tatar: шар (tt) ( şar ) , туп (tt) ( tup )
Telugu: బంతి (te) ( banti )
Thai: บอล (th) ( bɔn )
Tibetan: པོ་ལོ ( po lo )
Tongan: fo'i pulu
Turkish: top (tr)
Turkmen: şar , top
Ukrainian: ку́ля f ( kúlja )
Urdu: گولا f ( golā )
Uyghur: توپ ( top )
Uzbek: toʻp (uz) , shar (uz) , tup (uz) ,
Welsh: pêl (cy) f
Yiddish: באַל m ( bal )
Yoruba: bọ́ọ̀lù
object, generally spherical, used for playing games
Abkhaz: ампыл ( ampʼəl )
Albanian: top (sq) m
Aleut: miichix̂
Arabic: كُرَة f ( kura )
Armenian: գնդակ (hy) ( gndak )
Avar: торгӏо ( torʻo )
Azerbaijani: top (az)
Balti: پولو ( polo )
Bashkir: туп ( tup )
Basque: baloi
Bavarian: Boi
Belarusian: мяч m ( mjač )
Bengali: বল (bn) ( bol )
Breton: bal (br)
Brunei Malay: bula
Bulgarian: то́пка (bg) f ( tópka )
Burmese: ဘော (my) ( bhau: )
Carpathian Rusyn: пил'ка ( pylʺka )
Catalan: pilota (ca) f , bola (ca) f
Central Franconian: Ball m
Chamicuro: takululu
Chechen: буьрк ( bürk )
Cherokee: ᎠᎳᏍᎦᎶᏗ ( alasgalodi )
Chichewa: mpira
Chickasaw: to'wa'
Chinese:
Cantonese: 波 ( bo1 )
Dungan: пидан ( pidan ) , модан ( modan ) , данзы ( danzɨ ) , йүанданзы ( yüandanzɨ )
Mandarin: 球 (zh) ( qiú )
Chuvash: мечӗк ( meč̬ĕk )
Crimean Tatar: top
Czech: míč (cs) m
Danish: bold (da) c , ( hard ) kugle (da)
Dutch: bal (nl) m , kloot (nl) m
Elfdalian: boll m
Esperanto: pilko (eo)
Estonian: pall (et)
Faroese: bóltur m
Finnish: pallo (fi) , kuula (fi) ( e.g., in shot put, also colloquially )
French: balle (fr) f ( small, such as a cricket ball ) , ballon (fr) m ( large, such as a football )
Galician: bóla (gl) f , balón (gl) m , pelota (gl) f
Georgian: ბურთი (ka) ( burti )
German: Ball (de) m ( hollow or soft ) , Kugel (de) f ( hard )
Greek: μπάλα (el) f ( bála ) , τόπι (el) n ( tópi )
Ancient: σφαῖρα f ( sphaîra )
Greenlandic: arsaq
Haitian Creole: boul
Hawaiian: pōkaʻa , pōpō ,
Hebrew: כַּדּוּר (he) m ( kadúr )
Hindi: गेंद (hi) f ( gend )
Hungarian: labda (hu)
Hunsrik: Kughel f
Icelandic: bolti (is) m
Ido: baloneto (io)
Indonesian: bola (id)
Ingrian: pallo , šaara
Irish: liathróid (ga) f
Italian: pallone (it) m
Jamaican Creole: baal
Japanese: ボール (ja) ( bōru ) , まり (ja) ( mari ) , 鞠 (ja) ( まり, mari ) , 毬 (ja) ( まり, mari )
Kalmyk: меечг ( meeçg )
Kannada: ಚೆಂಡು (kn) ( ceṇḍu )
Kazakh: доп (kk) ( dop )
Khmer: បាល់ (km) ( bal )
Korean: 공 (ko) ( gong ) , 볼 (ko) ( bol )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: تۆپ (ckb) ( top )
Northern Kurdish: gog (ku) f , hol (ku) f , top (ku) f , tepik (ku) f
Kyrgyz: топ (ky) ( top )
Ladino: bala f
Lao: ບານ ( bān )
Latin: pila (la) f
Latvian: bumba f
Limburgish: bal (li) m , bol (li) m
Lithuanian: kamuolys m
Lombard: balla (lmo) f
Lushootseed: sbəkʷ
Luxembourgish: Ball m
Macedonian: топка (mk) f ( topka ) ( large ) , топче n ( topče ) ( small )
Malay: bola (ms)
Malayalam: പന്ത് (ml) ( pantŭ )
Manx: bluckan m , crig m
Marathi: चेंडू (mr) ( ceṇḍū )
Mon: ဗဝ် ( pò )
Mongolian: бөмбөг (mn) ( bömbög )
Navajo: please add this translation if you can
Nepali: बल ( bal )
Ngazidja Comorian: mpira class 3 /4
Northern Sami: spábba
Norwegian:
Bokmål: ball (no) m
Nynorsk: ball m
Occitan: pelòta f
Old English: þōþor m
Oromo: kubbaa
Ossetian: порти ( porti )
Pashto: ټوپکی (ps) m ( ṭupakai )
Persian: توپ (fa) ( tup )
Polish: piłka (pl) f
Portuguese: bola (pt) f
Romagnol: balòun m
Romanian: bilă (ro) f , minge (ro)
Romansch: balla f , bura f , bora f
Russian: мяч (ru) m ( mjač ) ( most sports: soccer, basketball, baseball, etc. ) , мя́чик (ru) m ( mjáčik ) ( small balls ) , шар (ru) m ( šar ) ( solid balls: bowling, billiards, pool, etc. ) , ша́рик (ru) m ( šárik ) ( small balls: ping-pong etc. )
Sanskrit: कन्दुक (sa) m ( kanduka )
Sardinian: bòcia f
Scots: baw
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: лопта f
Roman: lopta (sh) f
Sicilian: baḍḍa f ; ( italianization ) palla f , palluni (scn) m
Sinhalese: බෝලය (si) ( bōlaya ) , ගුළ ( guḷa ) , කන්දුක ( kanduka )
Slovak: lopta f
Slovene: žoga (sl) f
Sorbian:
Upper Sorbian: bul m
Spanish: pelota (es) f , balón (es) m , bola (es) f
Swahili: mpira (sw) class 3 /4
Swedish: boll (sv) c , klot (sv) n ( mainly hard and/or solid ) , kula (sv) c ( small and hard )
Tagalog: bola (tl)
Tajik: тӯб ( tüb )
Tamil: பந்து (ta) ( pantu )
Tarifit: tšamma m
Telugu: బంతి (te) ( banti )
Thai: บอล (th) ( bɔn )
Tibetan: པོ་ལོ ( po lo )
Tongan: pulu
Tulu: ಚೆಂಡ್ ( ceṇḍŭ )
Turkish: top (tr)
Turkmen: top
Tuvan: мячик ( myaçik ) , бөмбүк ( bömbük )
Ukrainian: м'яч (uk) m ( mʺjač ) , опу́ка (uk) f ( opúka ) ( dated )
Urdu: گیند f ( gend )
Uyghur: توپ ( top )
Uzbek: koptok (uz) , tup (uz)
Venetan: bala f
Vietnamese: bóng (vi) , banh (vi) ( dialectal )
Welsh: pêl (cy) f
West Frisian: bal (fy) n , bol (fy) n
White Hmong: pob
Yiddish: באַל m ( bal ) , פּילקע f ( pilke )
Zhuang: giuz
quantity of string, thread, etc., wound into a spherical shape
Armenian: կծիկ (hy) ( kcik )
Bashkir: йомғаҡ ( yomğaq )
Bulgarian: кълбо́ (bg) n ( kǎlbó )
Catalan: cabdell (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 毛球 (zh) ( máoqiú )
Czech: klubko (cs)
Dutch: bolletje (nl) n , bolleke (nl) n ( Flanders ) , kluwen (nl) n
Esperanto: bulo (eo)
Finnish: kerä (fi) , lankakerä (fi)
French: pelote (fr) f
German: Knäuel (de) n
Hawaiian: pōkaʻa
Hungarian: gombolyag (hu)
Irish: cuach f , ceirtlín m
Italian: gomitolo (it) m
Japanese: 玉 (ja) ( たま , tama)
Latvian: kamols m
Macedonian: кло́пче n ( klópče )
Old English: clīewen n
Ottoman Turkish: یوماق ( yumak )
Persian: گلوله (fa) ( golule ) , گندله (fa) ( gondole ) , کلاف (fa) ( kalâf )
Polish: kłębek (pl) m , motek (pl) m
Portuguese: bola (pt) f , novelo (pt) m
Punjabi: ਪਿੰਨਾ m ( pinnā )
Romanian: ghem (ro) n
Russian: клубо́к (ru) m ( klubók )
Serbo-Croatian:
Roman: klupka (sh) , klupko (sh) n
Sicilian: ghiòmmiru (scn) m
Slovak: klbko
Spanish: bola (es) f , ovillo (es) m
Swahili: mpira (sw) class 3 /4
Swedish: nystan (sv) n
Telugu: ఉండ (te) ( uṇḍa )
Turkish: yumak (tr)
baseball: a pitch that falls outside the strike zone
pinball: an opportunity to launch the ball into play
ballistics: a solid nonexplosive missile
mathematics: set of points in a metric space lying within a given distance of a given point
testicle
Aromanian: colj n , boashã f
Bashkir: күкәй ( kükəy )
Belarusian: я́йка n ( jájka ) , яйцо́ n ( jajcó ) , яе́чка n ( jajéčka )
Bulgarian: ташак (bg) m ( tašak )
Catalan: pilotes (ca) f pl , colló (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 睾丸 (zh) ( gāowán ) ( biological ) , 蛋 (zh) ( dàn ) ( slang )
Czech: koule (cs) ( mildly vulgar ) , vejce (cs)
Dutch: bal (nl) m , kloot (nl) m
Finnish: palli (fi) ( mildly vulgar )
French: couille (fr) f ( vulgar ) , glaoui (fr) m , burne (fr) f , rouston (fr) m
Friulian: coion m
Galician: collón m
Georgian: სათესლე ( satesle ) , სათესლე ჯირკვალი ( satesle ǯirḳvali ) , კვერცხი ( ḳvercxi ) ( mildly vulgar ) , ყვერი ( q̇veri ) ( vulgar )
German: Ei (de) n ( slang )
Hungarian: golyó (hu) , mogyoró (hu)
Icelandic: kúla (is) ( used in plural, with definite article )
Interlingua: coleone (ia)
Irish: róidlianna pl
Italian: palla (it) f ( mildly vulgar ) , coglione (it) m ( vulgar )
Japanese: 金玉 (ja) ( きんたま, kintama ) , 睾丸 (ja) ( きんたま, kintama )
Korean: 불알 (ko) ( bural ) , 불 (ko) ( bul )
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: gun (ku) m
Kyrgyz: ташак (ky) ( taşak )
Latin: cōleī m pl
Limburgish: bal (li) m , bol (li) m
Lithuanian: kiaušas m
Macedonian: јајце n ( jajce ) , маде n ( made ) , ташак m ( tašak )
Malay: telur (ms)
Occitan: colha f
Old English: bealluc m
Ottoman Turkish: طاشاق ( taşak ) , بیضه ( beyza )
Persian: تخم (fa) ( toxm )
Polish: jajo (pl) n , jaja (pl) pl
Portuguese: saco (pt) , bolas , ovos ( vulgar ) , colhão (pt) m pl
Romanian: coi (ro) m ( vulgar ) , coaie (ro) n pl , boș (ro) n ( slang )
Russian: яйцо́ (ru) n ( jajcó ) ( colloquial ) , я́йца (ru) n pl ( jájca ) ( colloquial ) , яи́чко (ru) n ( jaíčko )
Scots: baw
Sicilian: baḍḍa f , baḍḍuzza f , còcula (scn) f , cugghiuni (scn) m
Slovene: jajca (sl) f pl
Spanish: huevo (es) pl , cojón (es) pl , pelota (es) f pl
Swahili: mpira (sw) class 3 /4
Swedish: kula (sv) c , balle (sv) c
Tagalog: itlog (tl) , bayag
Turkish: taşak (tr) , haya (tr) , yumurta (tr)
Ukrainian: яйце́ (uk) n ( jajcé ) , яє́чко (uk) m ( jajéčko )
Venetan: cojon m
Vietnamese: dái (vi) , trứng dái
Walloon: coye (wa) f
mildly vulgar slang: nonsense
in plural — slang — courage
cricket: a single delivery
Translations to be checked
Verb
ball (third-person singular simple present balls , present participle balling , simple past and past participle balled )
( transitive ) To form or wind into a ball .
Synonyms: roll up , wad
to ball cotton
( metalworking ) To heat in a furnace and form into balls for rolling .
( transitive , US , vulgar ) To have sexual intercourse with.
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:copulate with
1968 , Joan Didion , “Slouching Towards Bethlehem”, in Slouching Towards Bethlehem :Max says it works both ways. “I mean if she comes in and tells me she wants to ball Don, maybe, I say ‘O.K., baby, it's your trip.’”
( transitive , intransitive ) To gather balls which cling to the feet or skis , as of damp snow or clay ; to gather into balls .
the horse balls
the snow balls
( slang , usually in present participle) To be hip or cool .
( university slang ) To reject from a fraternity or sorority . (Short for blackball .)
2018 July 12, “'I Thought Frats Were Like Their Movies, and They Totally Are': A Review of 'Alpha Class'”, in College Media Network :This highlights the issue of toxic masculinity in fraternities: a pledge only becomes a man, or a brother, by enduring as much abuse as he can and by proving his competence with girls. If he cannot, he is not only "balled " but seen as a "faggot" (this is a term directly from the work).
2019 November 25, Annie Martin, “UCF frat suspended after report of pledges being forced to smoke marijuana, drink 'entire bottles' of alcohol”, in Orlando Sentinel :All of these things are done by pledges in hopes of not getting 'balled' or kicked out.
( nonstandard , slang ) To play basketball .
fuck it, we ball (Internet?) slang, used to indicate general perseverance
( transitive ) To punish by affixing a ball and chain .
1865 , Camp Sumpter, Andersonville National Historic Site, Rules and Regulations of the Prison :any man refusing to do police duty will be punished by the sergts by balling him the rest of the day.
( transitive ) Of bees : to kill (a wasp ) by surrounding it in large numbers so as to raise its body heat.
( intransitive ) To operate (a vehicle) at high speed (whether balls-out , balls to the wall , or ballin' the jack , each of which comes ultimately from ball via a different route) .
Near-synonym: haul ass
Hang back for a bit — that Peterbilt in the left lane is really ballin’ and I'd rather not be real close to him.
Derived terms
Translations
vulgar slang: have sexual intercourse with
Interjection
ball
( sports ) An exclamation to inform players on an adjacent playing area that a loose ball from another game has entered their playing area; typically implies that play should be paused until the ball has been retrieved .
( Australian rules football ) An appeal by the crowd for holding the ball against a tackled player.
2007 , “Laws Of The Afl 2007”, in AFL Sydney Swans Rules Zone , archived from the original on March 22, 2008 :A good tackle (and some bad ones) will bring a cry of "Ball! " from the crowd – a plea for a holding the ball free kick.
See also
References
Etymology 2
From Middle French bal , from Middle French baler ( “ to dance ” ) , from Old French baller , from Late Latin ballō ( “ to dance ” ) .
Noun
ball (plural balls )
A formal dance .
We still have pictures from the ball we had in August 2008.
( informal ) A very enjoyable time.
Synonyms: blast , whale of a time
I had a ball at that concert.
A competitive event among young African-American and Latin American LGBTQ+ people in which prizes are awarded for drag and similar performances. See ball culture .
Derived terms
Translations
colloquial: a very enjoyable time
Finnish: hauskaa ( used adverbially )
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from French bal ( “ a dance ” ) .
Pronunciation
Noun
ball m (plural balls )
dance
ball , formal dance
Synonyms
Derived terms
Crimean Tatar
Etymology
Borrowed from French balle ( “ ball ” ) .
Noun
ball
estimation , score
Declension
References
Mirjejev, V. A., Usejinov, S. M. (2002 ) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary ] , Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN
East Central German
Etymology
Compare German bald .
Adverb
ball
( Erzgebirgisch ) soon
Further reading
2020 June 11, Hendrik Heidler, Hendrik Heidler's 400 Seiten: Echtes Erzgebirgisch: Wuu de Hasen Hoosn haaßn un de Hosen Huusn do sei mir drhamm: Das Original Wörterbuch: Ratgeber und Fundgrube der erzgebirgischen Mund- und Lebensart: Erzgebirgisch – Deutsch / Deutsch – Erzgebirgisch , 3. geänderte Auflage edition, Norderstedt: BoD – Books on Demand, →ISBN , →OCLC , page 20 :
Icelandic
Etymology
Borrowed from French bal ( “ a dance ” ) .
Pronunciation
Noun
ball n (genitive singular balls , nominative plural böll )
dance
Declension
Declension of ball (neuter )
Irish
Etymology
From Old Irish ball ,[ 1] from Proto-Celtic *ballos , from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ( “ to blow, swell, inflate ” ) ; compare English ball , Greek φαλλός ( phallós , “ penis ” ) .
Pronunciation
Noun
ball m (genitive singular baill , nominative plural baill )
( anatomy ) organ
component part
member
article
spot , place
spot, mark
( set theory ) element , member
Declension
Derived terms
Mutation
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.
References
^ Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019 ), “ball ”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
^ Quiggin, E. C. (1906 ) A Dialect of Donegal , Cambridge University Press, § 206 , page 79
Further reading
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old English *beall .
Noun
ball
Alternative form of bal
Etymology 2
Probably from Old French bale .
Noun
ball
Alternative form of bale ( “ bale ” )
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology 1
From Old Norse bǫllr .
Noun
ball m (definite singular ballen , indefinite plural baller , definite plural ballene )
ball ( solid or hollow sphere )
ball ( object, usually spherical, used for playing games )
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Borrowed from French bal .
Noun
ball n (definite singular ballet , indefinite plural ball or baller , definite plural balla or ballene )
ball ( formal social occasion involving dancing )
Derived terms
References
“ball” in The Bokmål Dictionary .
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology 1
From Old Norse bǫllr .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /balː/
IPA (key ) : /baʎː/ ( palatalized, Trøndelag and Northern Norway )
Noun
ball m (definite singular ballen , indefinite plural ballar , definite plural ballane )
a ball ( solid or hollow sphere )
a ball ( object, usually spherical, used for playing games )
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Borrowed from French bal .
Noun
ball n (definite singular ballet , indefinite plural ball , definite plural balla )
ball ( formal social occasion involving dancing )
Derived terms
References
“ball” in The Nynorsk Dictionary .
Old Irish
Etymology
From Proto-Celtic *ballos .
Pronunciation
Noun
ball m
a body part
member of a group
c. 800–825 , Diarmait, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 89c 11
Mani ro{i}ma fora cenn, ní mema forsna bullu . If their head is not defeated, the members will not be defeated.
part , portion
a colored spot
Declension
Masculine o-stem
Singular
Dual
Plural
Nominative
ball
ball L
baill L
Vocative
baill
ball L
baullu H , bullu H
Accusative
ball N
ball L
baullu H , bullu H
Genitive
baill L
ball
ball N
Dative
baull L
ballaib
ballaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
H = triggers aspiration
L = triggers lenition
N = triggers nasalization
Descendants
Mutation
Mutation of ball
radical
lenition
nasalization
baill
baill pronounced with /β(ʲ)-/
mbaill
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.
Further reading
Scottish Gaelic
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Old Irish ball m ( “ limb, member, organ; member of community; part, portion, piece; article, object; place, spot; passage (of a book); spot, mark, blemish ” ) (compare Irish ball ), from Proto-Celtic *ballos , from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ( “ to blow, swell, inflate ” ) (compare English ball , Ancient Greek φαλλός ( phallós , “ penis ” ) ).
Noun
ball m (genitive singular buill , plural buill )
member ( of a group )
article , item
( anatomy ) organ ; limb
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Middle English bal and/or Old Norse bǫllr ( “ a ball ” ) , both from Proto-Germanic *balluz , *ballô ( “ ball ” ) , from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ( “ to blow, inflate, swell ” ) .
Noun
ball m (genitive singular buill , plural buill )
ball
Derived terms
Mutation
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.
Further reading
Edward Dwelly (1911 ) “ball”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary ] , 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019 ), “ball ”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
Swedish
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium .)
Pronunciation
Adjective
ball
( slang ) cool , hip , fun , entertaining
Synonym: cool
Det är ballt att åka skateboard It's cool to ride a skateboard
Declension
1 The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.2 Dated or archaic.3 Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
References
Yola
Etymology
From Middle English bal , from Old English *beall .
Pronunciation
Noun
ball
ball
1867 , “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY , number 4, page 84 :Zitch blakeen, an blayeen, fan ee ball was ee-drowe! Such bawling and shouting, when the ball was thrown!
1867 , “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY , number 7, page 86 :Th' commanès t'rapple; th' ball skir an vlee; The ball-clubs they rattled; the ball rose and flew;
1867 , “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY , number 11 , page 88 :Up caame ee ball , an a dap or a kewe Up came the ball , and a tap or a shove
1867 , “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY , number 12 , page 88 :Th' ball want a cowlee, the gazb maate all rize; The ball o'er shot the goal, the dust rose all about;
Derived terms
References
Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland , London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867 , page 84