balk

balk
\ \ [OE] There are two separate strands of meaning in balk, or baulk, as it is also spelled.
\ \ When it first entered English in the 9th century, from Old Norse bálkr, it meant a ‘ridge of land, especially one between ploughed furrows’, from which the modern sense ‘stumbling block, obstruction’ developed. It is not until about 1300 that the meaning ‘beam of timber’ appears in English, although it was an established sense of the Old Norse word’s Germanic ancestor *balkon (source also of English balcony). The common element of meaning in these two strands is something like ‘bar’, which may have been present in the word’s ultimate Indo- European base *bhalg- (possible source of Greek phálagxlog, phalanx’).
\ \ Cf.BALCONY, PHALANX

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Balk — ist der Name folgender Personen Alfred Balk (1930–2010), US amerikanischer Journalist und Herausgeber Fairuza Balk (* 1974), US amerikanische Filmschauspielerin Hermann von Balk († 1239), Ritter des deutschen Ordens im 13. Jahrhundert Justin Balk …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Balk — Balk, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Balked} (b[add]kt); 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.] [1913 Webster] 1. To… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • balk´er — balk «bk», verb, noun. –v.i. 1. to stop short and stubbornly refuse to go on: »My horse balked at the fence. SYNONYM(S): jib, shy. 2. to hesitate or stop (at); avoid; not do: »He balks at every disturbance and never finishes his work …   Useful english dictionary

  • Balk — (b[add]k), 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. t., 3d {Bulk}.] 1. A ridge of land left unplowed between… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • balk — also baulk BrE [bo:k, bo:lk US bo:k, bo:lk] v [Date: 1400 1500; Origin: balk raised area that gets in the way of forward movement (15 21 centuries), from Old English balca pile of things on the ground ] 1.) to not want to do or try something,… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • balk|y — «B kee», adjective, balk|i|er, balk|i|est. stopping short and stubbornly refusing to go on; likely to balk »Mules are balky animals. SYNONYM(S): refractory, contrary. – …   Useful english dictionary

  • Balk — Balk, v. i. 1. To engage in contradiction; to be in opposition. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] In strifeful terms with him to balk. Spenser. [1913 Webster] 2. To stop abruptly and stand still obstinately; to jib; to stop short; to swerve; as, the horse… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • balk — balk·i·ly; balk·i·ness; balk·ing·ly; balk; …   English syllables

  • balk — [bôk] n. [ME balke < OE balca, a bank, ridge < IE * bhelg (extended stem of * bhel , a beam) > Ger balken, beam, Gr phalanx, L fulcrum] 1. a ridge of unplowed land between furrows 2. a roughly hewn piece of timber 3. a beam used in… …   English World dictionary

  • 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. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • balk — [v1] stop short cramp, crimp, demur, desist, dodge, evade, flinch, hesitate, recoil, refuse, resist, shirk, shrink from, shy, turn down, upset apple cart*; concepts 119,121,188 balk [v2] thwart baffle, bar, beat, check, circumvent, counteract,… …   New thesaurus

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