balk

name

1. A surname.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English balok, ballok (“knob”), from Old English bealluc (“testicle”, literally “little ball”). Doublet of ballock and bollocks.

1. A small brass ornament fixed at the top of a wand.

verb

Etymology: From Middle English balke, from Old English balca, either from or influenced by Old Norse bálkr (“partition, ridge of land”), from Proto-Germanic *balkô. Cognate with Dutch balk (“balk”), German Balken (“balk”), Italian balcone (“balcony”).

1. To be unwilling to do something; to refuse to proceed or do or allow something, either in general or only temporarily.

   “balked at paying a day's wages for a pencil; he said he would buy her one, but when he saw the price, he balked”

   “Carla balked for a moment, but when the badge and identification was produced, she acquiesced immediately. "Of course, Director, what can I do for you?"”

2. To stop short and refuse to go on or do something (such as jump).

   “The horse balked.”

   “"Her horse balked at the jump and threw her," said Michael.”

3. To move fitfully, stopping frequently.

   “The horses balked up the canyon, / But we made it with half a load. / Got to the top with panniers. / Went back for the bedding stowed.”

   “[…] balked up the hills, then careened and slid on the downside, threatening to overturn.”

4. To leave or make a balk or balks (ridges) in; to leave a ridge in by leaving partly unploughed.

   “But so well halt no man the plough, / That he ne balketh other while”

   “[…] balking up the field.”

5. To stop, check, block (by or as if by an obstacle); to hinder, impede, thwart.

   “My Sport is always balkt, or cut short — I stumble over the Game me I would pursue —”

   “[…] the sturdy cavalier was not to be balked in his purpose; […]”

6. To leave heaped up; to heap up in piles.

   “Ten thousand bold Scots, two and twenty knights, / Balk'd in their own blood did Sir Walter see.”

7. To pass over or by (either by chance or intentionally); to avoid in passing.

   “Jericho was in his way from Galilee to Jerusalem: he baulks it not, though it were outwardly cursed.”

   “I hope you will not balk Totteridge, if I am here.”

8. To pass over or by (either by chance or intentionally); to avoid in passing.

   “[…] you cannot baulk your Road without the hazard of drowning”

9. To pass over or by (either by chance or intentionally); to avoid in passing.

   “Sick he is, and keeps his bed, and balks his meat.”

   “Nor doth he any creature balk, / But lays on all he meeteth.”

10. To refuse or fail to use (something), either through error or intentionally.

    “And balke your bed for shame.”

    “A bait you cannot balk Sir.”

11. To refuse or fail to use (something), either through error or intentionally.

    “to balk an opportunity”

    “This was look'd for at your hand, and this as baulkt.”

12. To disappoint, frustrate, or check.

    “to balk expectation”

    “Nor doth it balk my charity, to find Th' Egyptian bishop of another mind:”

13. To quibble or bandy words with; engage in opposing, contradicting, or arguing with.

    “Her list in strifull termes with him to balke”

    “They do not divide and baulk with God.”

14. To make a balk, a deceptive motion to deceive another player.

    “The best advice you can receive regarding balking is to always maintain poise and composure on the mound.”