Ball

Source : Wright, Joseph English Dialect Dictionary
web : https://eddonline4-proj.uibk.ac.at/edd/main.html

BALL, sb.1 Var. dial. uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also
written baa, bal Sh.&Ork.1; bau Wm.1; baw Sc. Lan.;
bo Cum.1 Lan. [bā, bǭ, bǫə, bǭl, bǫəl.] Of things
shaped like a ball.
1. A dumpling.
Lan. If a' waur dead beside we'd ha' curran' baws i' the pot,
Roby Trad. (1872) I. 443; As heavy as a mustert bo, Tim Bobbin
View Dial. (1740) 34. Chs. A barm baw is a yeast dumpling [s.v.
Barm baw].
2. The calf of the leg.
Sh.I. [The dog] sank his yackles fair inta ta baa o' his leg,
Burgess Rasmie (1892) 14. Sh.&Ork.1 Kcb. Ane scours the
plain well kilted to the baw, Davidson Seasons (1789) 96. Cum.1
T'bo' o' t'leg.
3. The palm of the hand; the sole of the foot.
Sh.&Ork.1, Wm.1 n.Yks.1 About t'bigness o' t'ball o' my hand.
ne.Yks.1 It catched ma i' t'ball o' my han'. e.Yks.1 MS. add. (T.H.)
w.Yks. Hlfx. Wds.; Leeds Merc. Suppl. (July 25, 1891); w.Yks.1
A bee tang'd me reight i' th' baw o' my hand; w.Yks.5 ne.Lan.1
The round part of the bottom of a horse's foot. Whar is it? ─
It's i' t'ball o' t'foot. s.Not. (J.P.K.), Nhp.1
4. The footprint of a fox.
[Mayer Sptsmn's Direct. (1845) 131.]
5. A nodule, small lump or mass.
Nhb.1 Brown thill mixed with post balls, Borings (1881) 146.
The charge from a puddling furnace; the fused materials from an
alkali maker's balling furnace. Nhb., Dur. Blue metal with ironstone
balls, Borings II. 7.
6. Comp. Ball-stone, (1) ironstone lying in balls, found
near the surface; (2) a kind of limestone found near
Wenlock.
Shr.1 Shr.2
7. Fuel of anthracite coal-dust and clay made into small
oval lumps.
s.Pem. (W.M.M.); Laws Little Eng. (1888) 419.
8. A knoll, a rounded hill.
w.Som.1 I know many fields in different parishes called ‘the ball,’
as ‘Cloutsham ball’; all are hilly and rounded.
9. A large and compact shoal of herrings.
N.I.1 Sea-birds pouncing on a ball of fry are said to be balling.
10. Comp. (1) Ball-bias; (2) Ball-cracker, a kind of firework;
(3) Ball-head, a fish-name; see Bull-head; (4) Ball-stone,
ironstone lying in balls, found above the top coal; also a
kind of limestone, see below.
(1) Ken. Ball-bias, a running game, much like ‘rounders,’
played with a ball (W.F.S.). (2) Lon. What larks there is with
the ball-crackers! Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) I. 430. (3) Nrf.
A few ball-heads varied the catches, E. Even. News (Aug. 3,
1889) 3, col. i. (4) Stf.1 Shr. Ball-stones, a name given by
quarrymen to the concretionary masses in the Wenlock limestone
(E.H.G.); Marshall Review (1818) II. 199; Shr.1 Shr.2
11. Phr. the ball on the hat, a scapegoat, ‘cat's-paw.’
Sur.1 ‘He'd a mind to make me the ball on the hat between him
and the police,’ said a witness before the Godstone Bench.
[3. The ball of the hand, palma, vola. The ball of the
foot, planta pedis, Robertson Phras. (1693); A balle of
þe hand or of fote, callus, Cath. Angl. 8. Cp. ON. böllr,
a ball; also a rounded hill, in the local name Ballar-ā, a
farm in the w. of Iceland (Vigfusson).]
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BALL, sb.2 Irel. Oxf. In comp. Ball-party, a dancing-party;
phr. ball of dancing.
Tip. He ordered a ball party in memory of it, Flk-Lore Jrn.
(1883) VI. 55. Oxf.1 U baul u daa-nsin. Obsol.
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BALL, sb.3 Obsol. Cum. Yks. Ess. A name given to
a white-faced horse. See Bald.
w.Yks. Hlfx. Wds. Ess. Obs. Be wise who first doth teach thy
childe that Art [i.e. Musick], Least homelie breaker mar fine
ambling ball, Tusser Husbandrie (1580) 185, st. 2.
Hence Ballie, adj. of a horse, pie-or skew-bald.
Cum. (J.Ar.); (M.P.); Cum.1 s.v. Boly.
[Prob. of Celtic origin; cp. Ir. and Gael. ball, spot, mark
(Macbain); Breton bal, a white mark on an animal's face
(Du Rusquec).]
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BALL, v.1 Var. dial. uses in Sc. and Eng. Also
written baal Cor.1; bal Sh.&Ork.1 Cor.2 [bā, bǭ, bǭl,
bǫəl,
1. To track the footprints of a fox. See Ball, sb.1 4.
w.Som.1 Aay bau·ld u fauks dai-maur·neen aup-m Naa·pee-Kloaz
[I saw the track of a fox this morning up in Knappy Close].
Dev. A fox had been... balled into a brake, Davies Memoir
Russell (1878) 134. nw.Dev.1
2. To throw at, to pelt. Hence Balling, vbl. sb. pelting.
Sh.&Ork.1
3. To beat or thrash.
Dev., Cor. N. & Q. (1854) 1st S. x. 179, 376. Cor. Howld your
hooghly [cross] tongue Or ilse he'l bal ee black (M.A.C.); Quiller-Couch
Hist. Polperro (1871) Cor.1; Cor.2 Bal' en well.
Hence Balled, ppl. adj. beaten; Balling, vbl. sb. a
beating, thrashing.
(1) Cor. I'll never more be so baled and abused, J. Trenoodle
Spec. Dial. (1846) 44; Cor.1 (2) Cor.1; Cor.2 Gibb'n a good
balin.
4. Of snow: to gather in hard lumps, to adhere to the
feet. In gen. use.
Nhb. He had walked a long way in the snow.... His iron-shod
clogs ‘balled’ a good deal, and each step added many ounces
to his feet. He had to stop constantly to kick off the weight
which clung to them, s. Tynedale Stud. (1896) R. Armstrong's
Wraith. Dur.1, Chs.1, Not.1 n.Lin.1 It was pag-rag daay five-an-fo'ty
year sin', an' I roäde my black mare to Brigg, an' th' snaw
ball'd soä. I thoht noht else but that she wo'd be doon ivery
minit. Lei.1, Nhp.1, War. (J.R.W.), War.3, Hnt. (T.P.F.)
5. Phr. to ball off, to finish quickly, to cease.
Nhb. The steam ‘balled off’ sooner than the engine-man
anticipated, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (1846) V. 172. Nhp.1
Ball it off, to do anything expeditiously. A phrase current amongst
mechanics.
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BALL, v.2 n.Irel. Of sea-birds: to pounce on a ‘ball’
or shoal of herrings. See Ball, sb.1 9.
N.I.1 Sea-birds pouncing on a ball of fry are said to be balling
[s.v. Balling].
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BALL, see Bawl.
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BALL, sb.1 and v.1 Sc. Lan. Also in form ba' Sc.
1. sb. A globular sweetmeat.
Lnk. I've a poke o' mixed ba's, Bell Wee MacGreegor (1903) 128.
2. Comp. Ball-baises, sb. ? Obs. A game of ball. Sc.
Dick Dict. (1827). 3. v. To play at football. Hence
Ba'ing, vbl. sb. the game of football.
Abd. Here at the Christmas Ba'ing, Skinner Poems (1809) 41;
There was abundant time [at Yule] for the ‘ba'in’ or any other
recreation that might find favour, Alexander N. Rural Life
(1877) 176.
4. To put anything into the palm of another person's
hand. Cf. ball, sb.1 3.
s.Lan.1 He ball't me i' th' hont wi' sixpence.
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BALL, sb.2 and v.2 Sc. Dur. 1. sb. A bustle, disturbance;
an uproar, noise. Abd. (Jam.), s.Dur. (J.E.D.)
Cf. bawl, sb. 2. v. To behave in a disorderly manner.
Bnff.1
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BALL, sb.3 Sc. In phr. on the ball, constantly drinking
or boozing. Glasgow Herald (Aug. 23, 1899).

Source : Century Dictionary ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_Dictionary )