balling
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: ballings
Etymology: By surface analysis, ball + -ing.
Senses: examples: text: As preceding the gaseous states, Faye accepts one of "dissolution," and as the cause of the local accumulation of matter and heat in space, he, like others, regards the balling of matter through gravitation, whereby immense motion is converted into heat .
ref: 1875, Bernhard von Cotta, The Development Law of the Earth, page 7:
text: In other instances, where the blow on the cap was heavier, the flash was much longer and more powerful, and, if injected into a charge of very sensitive ntro, migh not improbably cause a balling of the shot .
ref: 1897, Sporting Guns and Gunpowders, page 330:
text: Little sticking or balling of the sponge iron occurred when this char was used as the reducing agent , and the sulfur content of the sponge iron ( 0.033 percent ) was lower than was generally obtained with the same ore and other reducing agents .
ref: 1947, R. C. Buehl, E. P. Shoub, J. P. Riott, Control of Sulfur Content of Sponge Iron Produced in Rotary Kilns, page 75:
text: Beginning in the eleventh centruy we find a "balling" of peasants in the nearby villages and towns , from which they went to work in the more distantly located fields, a development that has its counterpart in ancient Greece as well as in modern times and that could only lift the level of civilization.
ref: 1991, Henry William Spiegel, The Growth of Economic Thought, page 51:
text: The balling of green pellets were carried out in the pelletizing disc with ф800 mm.
ref: 2018, Bowen Li, Jian Li, Shadia Ikhmayies, Characterization of Minerals, Metals, and Materials, page 280:
text: Segregation or balling of the fibers is related to several factors, the most important of which appears to be the aspect ratio.
ref: 2021, J. Paul Guyer, An Introduction to Engineering Concrete Structures, page 331:
glosses: Aggregation into clumps or balls;
examples: text: The balling of wool and other fibre is effected by winding on to pipes or tubes ordinarily formed of metal with small flanges at each end , and these pipes or tubes are supported between discs upon an axis to which the desired rotary motion is given for the formation of the balls.
ref: 1867, William Colborne Brookes, “A.D. 1866, 29th August. No 2228: Balling Wool, &c.”, in English Patents of Inventions, Specifications: 1866, 2187 - 2232:
text: The machine which forms the object of the present application for Patent is destined to do the balling of threads of flax, wool, cotton, silk, or other textile material.
ref: 1878, Roméo Villain, “A.D. 1878, 7th February. No. 503: Machine for Winding up Threads of Flax, Wool, &c.”, in Specifications of Letters Patent for Inventions and Provisional Specifications, page 1:
text: What manner of man assists a woman with the balling of her yarn?
ref: 2020, Sue Monk Kidd, The Book of Longings:
glosses: The act of winding into a ball.
examples: text: Thus, in the candy-wrapping shops of a confectionery factory (where the women workers are for a protracted period in a sitting position and carrying out small-scope hand motions), the physical exercises included in the P.T. break were slow, unforced bends and straightenings, balling of the fists of up- raised hands, and the like , whereas in the smelting shop of a metallurgy factory the P.T. break was held outdoors and consisted of exercises of the active recreational type bringing into play groups of muscles not exercised in the production work.
ref: 1961, Boris Gerasimovich Ananʹev, Psychological Science in the USSR, page 560:
text: […] balling of the muscle, may not be obvious on the first examination because of swelling but may appear on a second or third exam .
ref: 1983, Emergency Medicine - Volume 15, Issues 13-16, page 178:
text: A swift shift in expression, a bowing of her shoulders, a balling of her hands, lips thinning to pale strips of ribbon, fear-laden eyes locked on the floor, then suddenly skittering across the room as if searching for the source of a noise.
ref: 2018, Ronnie Turner, Lies Between Us:
glosses: The act of curling up.
examples: text: Even if we would like to think that we know something about these things, most of the brain's operations lurk veiled in mystery, wrapped in riddle, inside—well, you know (as I think Nauta did)...The allegorical balling of the cortical mantle cautions that all is not necessarily what it seems.
ref: 2023, Daniel S. Zahm, Anatomy of Neuropsychiatry, page 321:
glosses: The act of wrapping something up.
examples: text: These cases probably start in the majority of instances from an excessive flooding of the soil with water, put on either while the trees are growing to force them along or just before they are dug in order to assist the operation of "balling."
ref: 1910, Ralph E. Smith, Elizabeth H. Smith, “California Plant Diseases”, in Bulletin: College of Agriculture Agricultural Experiment Station - Issues 206-219, page 1121:
text: A Minnesota nurseryman invented the hydraulic balling machine, which has eliminated hand-balling of trees plucked out of the ground.
ref: 1960 May, Sheldon A. Mix, “Flowers on the Production LIne”, in Popular Mechanics, volume 113, number 5, page 99:
text: If it is too dry, the earth will crack away from the roots in balling or while moving.
ref: 1996, Louise Bush-Brown, James Bush-Brown, Howard S. Irwin, America's Garden Book, page 170:
glosses: The act of cutting the roots (of a tree) about six inches from the stem, wrapping roots and soil in a sack, then tying the sack with twine.
examples: text: To do this, a temporary variance was obtained in the city's building codes, which forbid demolishing of buildings by balling .
ref: 1964, Construction Craftsman - Volumes 3-4, page 14:
text: Workers should not be allowed in any building area which can be adversely affected by these operations, nor should they be permitted in the barricaded area when balling is in progress.
ref: 1966, Bulletin - Issue 277, page 48:
text: It may be necessary to remove roofs by hand prior to balling, and it is sometimes necessary to remove storeys to bring a building within the capacity of a balling machine.
ref: 1994, L S Blake, Civil Engineer's Reference Book, pages 43-6:
glosses: The act or process of using a wrecking ball.
examples: text: the amount of milk sugar in the diet will be sufficiently high to produce flushing or at least a "balling" of the droppings on the feet of the birds.
ref: 1954, Poultry Disease Short Course for Veterinarians, June 28-30, 1954, page 24:
text: I was once told by a well-known naturalist that the balling of partridges was a wise provision of nature for the dissemination of seeds , and by its aid plants are introduced to fresh ground ; but this is poor comfort to the man who sees his coveys gradually becoming fewer .
ref: 1904, F. W. Millard, “The Balling of Partridges”, in The Badminton Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, volume 19, page 31:
text: Keeping the brooder and run clean and well sanded does away with the troublesome balling of the feet .
ref: 1909, Pacific Rural Press - Volumes 77-78, page 156:
qualifier: poultry
glosses: The accumulation of soil on the feet of a bird, a process that eventually leads to infection.
examples: text: The most potent cause of thrush is exposure of the frogs to filth and damp. Neglect to remove the "balling" of horse dung or soiled bedding, tan, or sawdust from the shod foot is a fruitful source.
ref: 1907 October 8, S.S. Cameron, “Diseases of Farm Animals”, in The Journal of Agriculture, volume 5, page 636:
text: This is owing to the fact that the chilling of the horses' feet and shoes is severe and facilitates the balling of the snow.
ref: 1911, “Snow-Shoes for Horses”, in Cavalry Journal, volume 6, page 122:
text: In connection with the treated felt, it may be mentioned that the material is found to be of special value as a filling for the hollow of horses' hoofs for snowy weather, whereby the balling of the snow is prevented .
ref: 1914, Commercial Intelligence Journal, page 339:
glosses: The accumulation of material such as snow or mud under the feet of a horse.
examples: text: The periodical bleeding and balling of horses should be likewise condemned .
ref: 1869, M.R. James, “Care of Chicks in Brooder”, in American Agricultural Annual, page 94:
text: We should always have a pail of water at hand to offer the horse after balling.
ref: 1890, United States. Bureau of Animal Industry, Special Report on Diseases of the Horse, page 10:
glosses: The act of forcing a bolus of medicine down the throat of an animal.
examples: text: Balling of queens seems to be relatively common in some strains of bee.
ref: 1986, Beowulf A. Cooper, Philip Denwood, The Honeybees of the British Isles, page 145:
text: The balling behaviour of workers has been explained by a "stress pheromone" hyphothesis: a disturbed queen produces a "stress pheromone" that stimulates an attack on her (balling) and her own death.
ref: 2013, Yaacov Lensky, Pierre Cassier, “Alarm Pheromones of the Queen and Worker Honey Bees”, in Avshalom Mizrahi, Yaacov Lensky, editor, Bee Products: Properties, Applications, and Apitherapy, page 152:
text: The poetic fancy of Maeterlinck who, while he admits that "bees are not sentimental," will not allow the possibility of individual disloyalty in the hive, attributes the balling of the queen to a law which "invests her person, whoever she be, with a sort of inviolability," and prohibits the direct assault of any one bee:.
ref: 2013, A Beekeeper's Guide to Rearing Queen Bees:
topics: agriculture
beekeeping
business
lifestyle
glosses: An incident when worker bees surround a queen bee, usually leading to her death by suffocation or starvation.
examples: text: Dr. Putnam received the discipline of snow balling as he passed the street.
ref: 1890, William Pynchon, Fitch Edward Oliver, The Diary of William Pynchon of Salem, page 25:
text: In order to emphasize the martial music, Director Gilmore had a balling of cannon that were fired electrically by pressing a set of white push-buttons on his desk .
ref: 1901, Philharmonic: A Magazine Devoted to Music Art Drama, page 23:
text: Alternatively you could do something rally crazy and participate in the new activities to 'trash your dress' that are being offered by companies where you wear your dress for activities such as point balling or monster truck driving and they take photos of you in your dress.
ref: 2013, Sarah Owen, The Complete Guide to Events Management, page 341:
glosses: The process of firing ball-like projectiles.
examples: text: For this test series balling was initiated by trying a variety of rocks and by running at different levels of hydraulic horsepower per square inch of bottom hole area ( HSI ) .
ref: 1989, Proceedings [of The] Drilling Conference, page 128:
text: Usually a balling operation will function very well with 2.0 feet of head in the upstream manhole to create a scouring velocity around the ball.
ref: 2003, Operation and Maintenance of Wastewater Collection Systems:
glosses: The act of scouring out a pipe or drain by forcing rocks or similar items through it with high-pressure water.
examples: text: In the next place, the defendant contrasts the dilution of Hayduck, which has a balling of about 1°, with the concentration of the dilute portion of the peptone wort of mash 1901, which had a balling of .8 °.
ref: 1930, The Federal Reporter, page 341:
text: Fruit and syrup of 20°, 30° balling was found to be insipid and sour. The product was excellent syrup and in its own juice with equal in 40 and 45 degree ballings.
ref: 1956, West Punjab Fruit Journal - Volumes 20-22, page 17:
text: Zinfandel grapes were a stable grape for shipping. They had a balling of 24 (sugar content) which made a 12 percent alcohol wine, which was great for home winemakers.
ref: 2017, George M. Walker & John Peragine, Cucamonga Valley Wine: The Lost Empire of American Winemaking, page 48:
glosses: The measurement on a hydrometer of the amount of sugar in a liquid.
examples: text: A very wise girl named Amaryllis once said to me "I like cuffing, but I don't want a boy who will swerk me just for the glory of it." Balling is something people do together too.
ref: 2011, Eric Berne, Sex in Human Loving, page v:
text: Sometimes balling just seems to be something that you just want to get over with, so you can start talking, but the man always leaves.
ref: 2020, Jack Olsen, The Girls on the Campus, page 179:
text: You know the bond, the thing that tied us up together was surfing and dope and balling [sex].
ref: 2023, Mike Marinacci, Psychedelic Cults and Outlaw Churches:
qualifier: African-American Vernacular
glosses: Synonym of sexual intercourse.
synonyms: word: sexual intercourse
Derived terms: antiballing
balling gun
balling-iron