# ball
## English
### Pronunciation

* (UK) enPR: bôl, IPA: /bɔːl/
* (General American) IPA: /bɔl/
** (cot–caught merger) IPA: /bɑl/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Audio (General Australian):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɔːl
* Homophones: bawl; (cot–caught merger) Basle

### Etymology 1

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.
* A user suggests that this English entry be cleaned up, giving the reason: “overlaps with balls”.
* Please see the discussion on Requests for cleanup or the talk page for more information and remove this template after the problem has been dealt with.

#### 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.
*** 1659, Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, England’s Confusion‎, London, page 7:[…] the Good Old Cause, which, as they seemed to represent it, smelt of Gunpowder and ball […]
*** 1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 294:I gave each of them a Musket with a Firelock on it, and about eight Charges of Powder and Ball, charging them to be very good Husbands of both, and not to use either of them but upon urgent Occasion.
*** 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 […]
*** 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 1, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 1:This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship.
* 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.
** c. 1712', Joseph Addison, Ode to the Creator of the World
    What, though in solemn Silence, all / Move round the dark terrestrial Ball!
** 1717, Alexander Pope, Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady:Thus, if eternal Justice rules the ball, / Thus shall your wives, and thus your children fall;
* (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.)
*** 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

* sphere
* globe
* (testicle): See Thesaurus:testicle
* (nonsense): See Thesaurus:nonsense
* (courage): chutzpah, guts, nerve

##### Derived terms

* 8 ball
* address the ball
* advance the ball
* air ball
* airball
* alley ball
* anchor ball
* arm ball
* at 'em ball
* backball
* badminton ball
* bait ball
* bald as a billiard ball
* ballache
* ball ache
* ball alley
* ball and chain
* ball and socket
* ball-and-socket joint
* ball and socket joint
* ball and stick
* ball-and-stick model
* ballbag
* ball bag
* ball-barrow
* ball bearing / ball-bearing
* ball boy / ballboy / ball-boy
* ball-bust
* ballbusting
* ball-by-ball
* ball cactus
* ballcap
* ball cap
* ball carrier
* ball-cartridge
* ball chain
* ball change
* ball clay
* ballclay
* ball clicker
* ballclub
* ball club
* ball-club
* ballcock
* ball cock
* ballcourt
* balldom
* balldress
* ballean
* ball fern
* ball field
* ballfield
* ball-flower
* ball flower
* ball gag
* ballgag
* ball game
* ball-game
* ball-girl
* ball girl
* ballgoer
* ball-goer
* ball gown
* ball-gowned
* ball grid array
* ballhandler
* ballhandling
* ball hawk
* ballhawk
* ball-hawking
* ballhead
* ball hockey
* ball hog
* ball in hand
* ballize
* balljoint
* ball joint
* balljuice
* ballkicker
* ball kid
* ballless
* ball-less
* ball lightning
* ball-like
* balllike
* ball load
* ball machine
* ballmaker
* ball mill
* ball mustard (Neslia paniculata)
* ball of chalk
* ball of fire
* ball of fluff
* ball of the foot
* ball of the thumb
* ball out
* ballout
* ball park
* ballpark
* ball-park
* ball park estimate
* ball-park estimate
* ball-park estimation
* ball park estimation
* ball park figure
* ball-peen
* ball-peen hammer
* ball-pein hammer
* ball pen
* ball pit
* ball-player
* ball player
* ballplaying
* ball-playing
* ballpoint
* ball-point pen
* ball pond
* ball pool
* ballproof
* ball-proof
* ball python
* ball race
* ballrace
* ball return
* ballsac
* ball sack
* ballsack
* ball-shaped
* ball signal
* ball snake
* ballsucker
* ball up
* ball-up
* ball valve
* ball vein
* ball washer
* ballyard
* banana ball
* bandy-ball
* bandyball
* bank-a-ball
* Baoding ball
* base-ball
* base ball
* baseball
* base-on-balls
* base on balls
* basketball
* bat and ball
* batting average on balls in play
* battleball
* Bazball
* b-ball
* beachball / beach ball
* beach ball diagram
* beach ball plot
* beanball
* bean ball
* beeball
* bee ball
* behind the 8-ball
* behind the eight-ball
* behind the eight ball
* belle of the ball
* benchball
* Ben Wa ball
* best-ball
* best ball
* better ball
* billiard ball
* bioball
* bird ball
* birthing ball
* blackball
* bladderball
* blowball
* blueball
* blue-ball
* boogerball
* bouncy ball
* bow ball
* bowling ball
* boxball
* brainball
* brandy-ball
* brandy ball
* brass balls
* breaking ball
* broomball
* bucketball
* buckyball
* bump ball
* bunnyball
* butterball
* buttonball
* button-ball
* cabbageball
* cage ball
* cageball
* cake ball
* call balls and strikes
* call the ball
* Calvinball
* camp-ball
* caneball
* cannonball
* cannon-ball
* cannon ball
* cap and ball
* captain ball
* carpetball
* carry the ball
* catchball
* catch no ball
* catch no balls
* cheeseball
* cheese ball
* chewing-ball
* chewing ball
* Chinese eight-ball
* clacker balls
* closed ball
* cluster-ball
* clusterball
* coal ball
* coalball
* cock and ball torture
* codeball
* contact ball
* corkball
* cornball
* cotton ball
* cotton wool ball
* countryball
* cramp ball
* cricket ball
* croquet ball
* crudball
* crystal ball
* cue ball
* cumball
* cup-and-ball
* curveball
* dartball
* dead ball
* dead-ball era
* deball
* deedlee ball
* deedly ball
* diamond ball
* dirtball
* disco ball
* dodgeball
* dodge ball
* dot ball
* doughball
* drop-ball
* drop the ball
* dryer ball
* dungball
* dust-ball
* dustball
* earball
* Earth ball
* earth ball
* earthball
* eggball
* eight ball / eight-ball
* emery ball
* executive ball clicker
* exercise ball
* eyeball
* eye-ball
* fair ball
* fancy ball
* fastball
* fat ball
* fieldball
* fireball
* fire-ball
* fish-ball
* fish ball
* fishball
* fistball
* flagball
* flash-ball
* floorball
* fluffball
* flutterball
* flyball
* fly ball
* football
* foot-ball
* foot ball
* forkball
* foul ball
* fourball
* four ball
* four-ball
* frame ball
* freeball
* free ball
* fuckball
* furball
* fuzz-ball
* fuzzball
* fuzzy-ball
* gaga ball
* game ball
* gazing ball
* geisha ball
* get the ball rolling
* ghostball
* glitterball
* glueball
* gluinoball
* goalball
* go balls up
* golf ball
* goo ball
* goofball
* gopher ball
* greaseball
* great balls of fire
* gridiron football ball
* ground ball
* ground ball with eyes
* gumball
* gutter ball
* gyroball
* hair-ball
* hairball
* hairy balls
* hairy ball theorem
* half-ball
* hamster ball
* hand-ball
* hand ball
* handled the ball
* hanging ball
* hardball
* Harvey ball
* head-the-ball
* heel-ball
* heelball
* held ball
* hero ball
* hidden-ball trick
* hide the ball
* highball
* hipball
* hit one out of the ball park
* hit the ball twice
* hockey ball
* holding the ball
* holy balls
* hornball
* horseball
* house ball
* hyperball
* iceball
* inkball
* ink ball
* Italian rice ball
* jack-ball
* Japanese rice ball
* jump ball
* junkball
* keep one's eye on the ball
* keep the ball rolling
* kegel ball
* kegel balls
* kickball
* killerball
* Kin-Ball
* kin-ball
* kissing ball
* kiss my balls
* kittenball
* knock one out of the ball park
* knock the ball out of the park
* know ball
* knuckleball
* koosh ball
* korfball
* lake ball
* lardball
* late to the ball
* laundry ball
* lawyerball
* leave the ball in someone's court
* light ball
* line-ball
* live-ball era
* long ball
* loofball
* luck ball
* matball
* match ball
* matza ball
* matzah ball
* matzo ball
* matzoh ball
* meatball
* medicine ball
* melon ball scooper
* metaball
* Minié ball
* mirror ball
* Moneyball
* monkey ball
* moonball
* moorball
* mothball
* moth-ball
* moth ball
* motoball
* Mozart ball
* mudball
* multiball
* murderball
* mushball
* muskball
* musket ball
* myoball
* nail ball
* nanoball
* nerf ball
* net ball
* netball
* net-ball
* new ball
* niggerball
* nine ball
* nine-ball
* no ball
* nonball
* nothing ball
* nut ball
* nutball
* object ball
* oddball
* off-the-ball
* old ball
* omegaball
* onballer
* on the ball
* open ball
* orange ball buddleja
* orange-ball-tree
* orgasm balls
* other end of the ball
* out ball
* oyster ball
* paddleball
* paintball
* palmball
* passed ball
* patball
* peanut ball
* pepper ball
* perfume ball
* physioball
* pickle ball
* pickleball
* pick up the ball and run with it
* pinball
* ping pong ball
* pithball
* plain ball
* play ball
* playball
* playground ball
* play the ball
* play the ball and not the man
* play the ball not the man
* play the man and not the ball
* play the man not the ball
* Poincaré ball
* Polandball
* powerball
* preball
* puddle ball
* puffball
* pukeball
* punchball
* purity ball
* pushball
* Q-ball
* quadball
* rabbit ball
* racketball
* racquetball
* red ball
* return ball
* rice ball
* ringball
* rollerball
* roofball
* root-ball
* rootball
* roundball
* rubber ball blast grenade
* rugby ball
* rum ball
* run of the ball
* run of the balls
* Russian ball
* sandball
* sap ball
* scioptic ball
* screwball
* scruffball
* scuffball
* scumball
* scuzzball
* sea ball
* second new ball
* seeing eye ball
* set the ball rolling
* shade ball
* sharp as a bowling ball
* shitball
* silver ball
* sinkerball
* skee ball
* skittleball
* sky ball
* slamball
* sleazeball
* slime-ball
* slimeball
* slime ball
* sloshball
* slowball
* slow ball
* slushball
* smallball
* small ball
* smoke-ball
* smokeball
* smut-ball
* snooker ball
* snotball
* snowball
* Snowball
* soccer-ball
* soccer ball
* softball
* sootball
* soot ball
* soot-ball
* sourball
* spare ball
* speedball
* spikeball
* spitball
* spit-ball
* sportsball
* spot the ball
* sprayball
* square ball
* squash ball
* squeeze ball
* stage ball
* stang ball
* start the ball rolling
* stickball
* stinkball
* stink ball
* stock ball
* stool-ball
* stoolball
* stoopball
* stoop ball
* streetball
* stress ball
* sun ball
* superball
* sweatball
* sweet ball
* swingball
* Swiss ball
* table tennis ball
* take one's ball and go home
* take one's bat and ball and go home
* take one's eye off the ball
* take the ball and run with it
* tan balls
* tape ball
* tarball
* T-ball
* tchoukball
* tea ball
* tee ball
* tee-ball
* ten-ball
* tennis ball
* teqball
* that's the way the ball bounces
* the ball is in someone's court
* the ball is in your court
* thistleball
* three-ball
* through-ball
* through ball
* throwball
* time ball
* time-ball
* too many balls in the air
* touchball
* touching ball
* towball
* townball
* town ball
* trackball
* trackerball
* trap-ball
* trap ball
* trapball
* triangleball
* tunnelball
* turdball
* tut-ball
* typeball
* unball
* uniball
* uniballer
* utility ball
* v-ball
* volley-ball
* volleyball
* wait for the ball to drop
* wallball
* wash-ball
* wash ball
* washing ball
* whiffle-ball
* whiffle ball
* white-ball
* White Ball (place)
* white ball
* whole ball of wax
* wiffle-ball
* wiffle ball
* wind of a ball
* wine ball
* wireball
* witch-ball
* witch ball
* wogball
* woodball
* woodsball
* worm ball
* wormball
* wrecker's ball
* wrecking ball
* yoga ball
(testicle):
* as balls
* ball-breaker
* ball-breaking
* ball-buster
* ball-busting
* ball-gag
* ballhair
* balls-aching
* balls deep
* balls-deep
* balls of steel
* balls-out
* balls to the wall
* balls up (verb)
* balls-up (noun)
* ballsy
* blue balls
* break one's balls
* break someone's balls
* cold as balls
* cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey
* get by the balls
* grow some balls
* have someone by the balls
* have the world by the balls
* kick in the balls
* lick my balls
* lick someone's balls
* stand out like dog's balls
* stick out like dog's balls
* suck balls
* suck donkey balls
* suck my balls
* trip balls
* twist someone's balls

##### Descendants

* → Cantonese: 波 (bo$^1$)
* → Japanese: ボール (bōru)
* → Makah: ba·la
* → Yoruba: bọ́ọ̀lù

##### Translations

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:
Cyrillic: бөмбөг (mn) (bömbög)
Navajo: please add this translation if you can
Norwegian:
Bokmål: ball (no) m
Nynorsk: ball m
Old English: þōþor m, clīewen n
Old Gujarati: दडउ (daḍaü)
Old Norse: knǫttr, bǫllr
Paiwan: mali
Pannonian Rusyn: лабда f (labda)
Pashto: ټوپکی (ps) m (ṭupakai), پنډوس (ps) m (pənḍus)
Persian:
Iranian Persian: کُرِه (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),
Vietnamese: hình cầu (vi)
Welsh: pêl (cy) f
Yiddish: באַל m (bal)
Yoruba: bọ́ọ̀lù :
    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

#### 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.’”
* (ambitransitive) 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

* ball down
* ball it off
* ball off

##### Translations
#### 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

* fore

#### References

* ↑ 2 August 2023, "Textbook Lionessing, scandalous kit evoking and school playground crowd sounds" from 41 min 20 sec, Football Clichés podcast, episode 180 (The Athletic)

### 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

* ball-dress
* ballgown
* ballroom
* have a ball
* hunt ball
* masked ball
* open the ball

##### Related terms

* ballad
* ballade

##### Translations
## Catalan
### Etymology

Borrowed from French bal (“a dance”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈbaʎ]
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -aʎ

### Noun

ball m (plural balls)
* dance
* ball, formal dance

#### Synonyms

* dansa

#### Derived terms

* ball de bastons

#### Related terms

* ballar

## 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
    zi ball gieh[to] go too 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

* IPA: /palː/
* Rhymes: -alː

### Noun

ball n (genitive singular balls, nominative plural böll)
* dance

#### Declension
## Irish
### Etymology

From Old Irish ball, from Proto-Celtic *ballos, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to blow, swell, inflate”); compare English ball, Greek φαλλός (phallós, “penis”).

### Pronunciation

* (Munster) IPA: /bˠɑul̪ˠ/
* (Galway) IPA: /bˠɑːl̪ˠ/
* (Mayo, Ulster) IPA: /bˠal̪ˠ/

### Noun

ball m (genitive singular baill, nominative plural baill)
* (anatomy) organ
* component part
* member
* article
* spot, place
* spot, mark
* (set theory) element, member

#### Declension

bare forms
singular
plural
nominative
ball
baill
vocative
a bhaill
a bhalla
genitive
baill
ball
dative
ball
baill
forms with the definite article
singular
plural
nominative
an ball
na baill
genitive
an bhaill
na mball
dative
leis an mball don bhall
leis na baill :

#### Derived terms

* an ball is mó ar deireadh (“last but not least”)
* ar an mball (“immediately, on the spot”)
* ar ball (“a while ago; after a while”)
* ar fud an bhaill (“all over the place”)
* baill bheatha m pl (“vitals”)
* baill dho-laghdaithe (“irreducible elements”)
* baill ghiniúna m pl (“genitals”)
* baill inmheánacha m pl (“internal organs”)
* baill scoite m (“discrete members”)
* ball acra m (“implement”)
* ball airtléire m (“piece of artillery”)
* ball breac m (“mottle”)
* ball broinne m (“birthmark”)
* ball dearg m (“strawberry mark”)
* ball dobhráin m (“mole (on skin)”)
* ball dóite m (“burn”)
* ball dúchais m (“congenital mark”)
* ball éadaigh m (“article of clothing”)
* ball easpach m (“defective article”)
* ball éisteachta m (“hearing organ, ear”)
* ball fearga m (“penis”)
* ball fo-éadaigh m (“undergarment”)
* ball gréine m (“sun-spot”)
* ball inbhéartach m (“inverse element”)
* ball ionannais m (“identity element”)
* ball nimhneach m (“sore spot”)
* ball oibre m (“spell of work”)
* ball seirce m (“love spot, patch”)
* ball séire m (“bungler; fool”)
* ball súiche m (“smut”)
* ball tosaigh m (“stempiece (of boat)”)
* ball trasna (“cross-member”)
* ball trioc m (“article of furniture”)
* ball troscáin m (“article of furniture”)
* ball uirlise m (“implement”)
* ballra m (“members”)
* i lár baill (“right in the middle”)
* i mball éigin (“somewhere”)
* i mball eile (“elsewhere”)
* i ngach aon bhall (“everywhere”)
* i ngach aon treo baill (“in all directions”)
* in aon bhall (“in one place, together”)
* láithreach baill (“on the spot, instantly”)
* ó bhall go post (“from stem to stern”)

### 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

* Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “ball”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

## 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

* ballbesittelse
* ballgutt
* ballspill
* balltre
* dødball
* fjærball
* fotball
* håndball, handball
* nettball
* snøball

### 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

* ballkjole
* ballsal

### References

* “ball” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Etymology 1

From Old Norse bǫllr.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /balː/
* IPA: /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

* ballgut
* balltre
* dødball
* finnball
* fjørball
* fotball
* handball
* nettball
* snøball

### 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

* ballkjole
* ballsal

### References

* “ball” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Old Irish
### Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *ballos.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [bal͈]

### 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. 89$^c$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

* $^H$ = triggers aspiration
* $^L$ = triggers lenition
* $^N$ = triggers nasalization

#### Descendants

* Irish: ball
* Scottish Gaelic: ball

### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

### Further reading

* Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “ball”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

## Scottish Gaelic
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /paul̪ˠ/

### 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

* Ball Pàrlamaid, BP (“Member of Parliament, MP”)
* ballrachd (“membership”)
* BPA

### 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

* ball-basgaid
* ball-beusa
* ball-bholaidh
* ball-coise
* ball-goilf
* ball-stèidhe

### 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

* IPA: /ˈbalː/

### Adjective

ball
* (slang) cool, hip, fun, entertaining
    Synonym: cool
    Det är ballt att åka skateboardIt'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

* ball in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* ball in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* ball in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

## Yola
### Etymology

From Middle English bal, from Old English *beall.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bal/

### 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 keweUp 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

* balbeedhel

### 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