One expression … must check and balance another.
Kent.
4. To compare in relative force, importance, value, etc.; to estimate.
Balance the good and evil of things.
L'Estrange.
5. To settle and adjust, as an account; to make two accounts equal by paying the difference between them.
I am very well satisfied that it is not in my power to balance accounts with my Maker.
Addison.
6. To make the sums of the debits and credits of an account equal; Ð said of an item; as, this payment, or credit, balances the account.
7. To arrange accounts in such a way that the sum total of the debits is equal to the sum total of the credits; as, to balance a set of books.
8. (Dancing) To move toward, and then back from, reciprocally; as, to balance partners.
9. (Naut.) To contract, as a sail, into a narrower compass; as, to balance the boom mainsail.
Balanced valve. See Balance valve, under Balance, n.
Syn. Ð To poise; weigh; adjust; counteract; neutralize; equalize.
Bal¶ance, v.i. 1. To have equal weight on each side; to be in equipoise; as, the scales balance.
2. To fluctuate between motives which appear of equal force; to waver; to hesitate.
He would not balance or err in the determination of his choice.
Locke.
3. (Dancing) To move toward a person or couple, and then back.
Bal¶anceÏaÏble (?), a. Such as can be balanced.
Bal¶anceÏment (?), n. The act or result of balancing or adjusting; equipoise; even adjustment of forces. [R.]
Darwin.
Bal¶anÏcerÿ(?), n. 1. One who balances, or uses a balance.
2. (Zo”l.) In Diptera, the rudimentary posterior wing.
Bal¶anceÏreef· (?), n. (Naut.) The last reef in a foreÐandÐaft sail, taken to steady the ship.
Bal¶ance wheel· (?). 1. (Horology) (a) A wheel which regulates the beats or pulses of a watch or chronometer, answering to the pendulum of a clock; Ð often called simply a balance. (b) A ratchetÐshaped scape wheel, which in some watches is acted upon by the axis of the balance wheel proper (in those watches called a balance).
2. (Mach.) A wheel which imparts regularity to the movements of any engine or machine; a fly wheel.
Bal·aÏnif¶erÏous (?), a. [L. balanus acorn + Ðferous.] Bearing or producing acorns.
Bal¶aÏnite (?), n. [L. balanus acorn: cf. F. balanite.] (Paleon.) A fossil balanoid shell.
ØBal·aÏnoÏglos¶susÿ(?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? acorn + ? tongue.] (Zo”l) A peculiar marine worm. See Enteropneusta, and Tornaria.
Bal¶aÏnoid (?), a. [Gr. ? acorn + Ðoid.] (Zo”l.) Resembling an acorn; Ð applied to a group of barnacles having shells shaped like acorns. See Acornshell, and Barnacle.
Bal¶as ru·by (?). [OE. bales, balais, F. balais, LL. balascus, fr. Ar. balakhsh, so called from Badakhshan, Balashan, or Balaxiam, a place in the neighborhood of Samarcand, where this ruby is found.] (Min.) A variety of spinel ruby, of a pale rose red, or inclining to orange. See Spinel.
BaÏlaus¶tineÿ(?), n. [L. balaustium, Gr. ?.] (Bot.) The pomegranate tree (Punica granatum). The bark of the root, the rind of the fruit, and the flowers are used medicinally.
BalÏbu¶tiÏate (?), BalÏbu¶ciÏnateÿ(?),} v.i. [L. balbutire, fr. balbus stammering: cf. F. balbutier.] To stammer. [Obs.]
ØBalÏbu¶tiÏesÿ(?), n. (Med.) The defect of stammering; also, a kind of incomplete pronunciation.
Bal¶conÿ(?), n. A balcony. [Obs.]
Pepys.
Bal¶coÏniedÿ(?), a. Having balconies.
Bal¶coÏny (?), n.; pl. Balconies (?). [It. balcone; cf. It. balco, palco, scaffold, fr. OHG. balcho, pa?cho, beam, G. balken. See Balk beam.] 1. (Arch.) A platform projecting from the wall of a building, usually resting on brackets or consoles, and inclosed by a parapet; as, a balcony in front of a window. Also, a projecting gallery in places of amusement; as, the balcony in a theater.
2. A projecting gallery once common at the stern of large ships.
µ ½The accent has shifted from the second to the first syllable within these twenty years.¸
Smart (1836).
Bald (?), a. [OE. balled, ballid, perh. the p.p. of ball to reduce to the roundness or smoothness of a ball, by removing hair. ?85. But cf. W. bali whiteness in a horse's forehead.] 1. Destitute of the natural or common covering on the head or top, as of hair, feathers, foliage, trees, etc.; as, a bald head; a bald oak.
On the bald top of an eminence.
Wordsworth.
2. Destitute of ornament; unadorned; bare; literal.
In the preface to his own bald translation.
Dryden.
3. Undisguised. ½ Bald egotism.¸
Lowell.
4. Destitute of dignity or value; paltry; mean. [Obs.]
5. (Bot.) Destitute of a beard or awn; as, bald wheat.
6. (Zo”l.) (a) Destitute of the natural covering. (b) Marked with a white spot on the head; baldÐfaced.
Bald buzzard (Zo”l.), the fishhawk or osprey. Ð Bald coot (Zo”l.), a name of the European coot (Fulica atra), alluding to the bare patch on the front of the head.
Bal¶daÏchin (?), n. [LL. baldachinus, baldechinus, a canopy of rich silk carried over the host; fr. Bagdad, It. Baldacco, a city in Turkish Asia from whence these rich silks came: cf. It. baldacchino. Cf. Baudekin.] 1. A rich brocade; baudekin. [Obs.]
2. (Arch.) A structure in form of a canopy, sometimes supported by columns, and sometimes suspended from the roof or projecting from the wall; generally placed over an altar; as, the baldachin in St. Peter's.
3. A portable canopy borne over shrines, etc., in procession.
[Written also baldachino, baldaquin, etc.]
Bald¶ ea¶gle (?). (Zo”l.) The whiteÐheaded eagle (Hali‘etus ?eucocephalus) of America. The young, until several years old, lack the white feathers on the head.
µ The bald eagle is represented in the coat of arms, and on the coins, of the United States.
Bal¶der (?), n. [Icel. Baldr, akin to E. bold.] (Scan. Myth.) The most beautiful and beloved of the gods; the god of peace; the son of Odin and Freya. [Written also Baldur.]
Bal¶derÏdash (?), n. [Of uncertain origin: cf. Dan. balder noise, clatter, and E. dash; hence, perhaps, unmeaning noise, then hodgepodge, mixture; or W. baldorduss a prattling, baldordd, baldorddi, to prattle.] 1. A worthless mixture, especially of liquors.
Indeed beer, by a mixture of wine, hath lost both name and nature, and is called balderdash.
Taylor (Drink and Welcome).
2. Senseless jargon; ribaldry; nonsense; trash.
Bal¶derÏdash (?), v.t. To mix or adulterate, as liquors.
The wine merchants of Nice brew and balderdash, and even
mix it with pigeon's dung and quicklime.
Smollett.
Bald¶Ïfaced· (?), a. Having a white face or a white mark on the face, as a stag.
Bald¶head·ÿ(?), n. 1. A person whose head is bald.
2 Kings ii. 23.
2. (Zo”l.) A whiteÐheaded variety of pigeon.
Bald¶head·ed, a. Having a bald