ball

English has two words spelled ball: the round object, probably from Old Norse, and the dancing party, from French.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /bɔːl/, US /bɔːl/, /bɑːl/^[4]

ball¹ round object

Etymology

The round object is inherited from Middle English bal,^[3][5] probably borrowed from Old Norse bǫllr (“ball”),^[6][7][8][9] or perhaps from an unrecorded Old English *beall, implied by the diminutive bealluc (“testicle”),^[6][3][2] from Proto-Germanic *balluz,^[6][3][10] the source also of Dutch bal and German Ball.^[6] It is from Proto-Indo-European *bhel- (“to blow, swell”),^[6][2][11] and Barnhart relates it more remotely to bullock.^[3] The same Scandinavian word is the ultimate root of Italian ballotta, the source of ballot.^[1] The verb is from the noun.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A ball used in games: about 1205 in the OED^[12] or about 1200 in Etymonline,^[6] probably before 1200, in Layamon.^[3]

Semantic evolution

A planet or the earth is a ball from before 1300.^[12] The ball of the foot is from the mid-14th century,^[6] and a game played with a ball from about 1350.^[12][6] A cannon or musket ball, a rounded missile, is from the late 14th century,^[6] 1387 in the OED.^[12] The sense “testicle” is from the early 14th century.^[6] A delivery of the ball, as in cricket, is from 1483.^[12] Ball and chain is from 1835,^[12] keep one's eye on the ball figuratively by 1907, from golf, on the ball from 1912, and the ball is in your court by 1956, from tennis.^[6] The verb, “to make into a ball”, is from the 1650s,^[6] 1577 in Merriam-Webster;^[9] the slang sense “to copulate” is by the 1940s, from jazz slang.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1205 – a ball for games.^[12]
• before 1300 – a planet.^[12]
• early 14th century – a testicle.^[6]
• c. 1350 – a game with a ball.^[12]
• 1387 – a missile.^[12]
• 1483 – a delivery in a game.^[12]
• 1912 – on the ball.^[6]
• 1956 – ball in someone's court.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A round or roughly round object, especially one used in a game.
2. A game played with a ball, especially baseball.
3. A single throw, kick or delivery of the ball in a game.
4. (baseball) A pitch outside the strike zone.
5. A rounded part of the body: the ball of the foot.
6. A solid missile for a cannon or gun.
7. (vulgar slang) A testicle.

Verb

1. To form into a ball.

Word family

• ballpark
• ballpoint
• ball bearing
• football
• baseball
• snowball
• eyeball
• meatball

ball² dance

Etymology

The dance is borrowed from French bal (“a dance”),^[6][3][2] from Old French baller (“to dance”),^[6][7][10] from Late Latin ballāre (“to dance”),^[6][2][7] from Ancient Greek βαλλίζειν (ballízein, “to dance, jump about”),^[6][2][13] literally “to throw one's body”, as ancient Greek dancing was highly athletic,^[6] ultimately from βάλλειν (bállein, “to throw”),^[3][11] from Proto-Indo-European *gwele- (“to throw, reach”).^[6][2] Latin ballāre is also the source of ballad and ballet.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A dance or dancing: 1633 in the OED,^[12] 1632 in Barnhart^[3] or the 1630s.^[6] A social assembly for dancing is from the 1630s.^[6] Merriam-Webster dates it to 1605.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The extended sense “a very enjoyable time”, as in have a ball, is American English slang from 1945, perhaps from the 1930s in African-American speech.^[6] The verb, “to attend a ball”, is from the mid-17th century, and “to enjoy oneself greatly” is a later slang use.^[7]

Timeline

• 1605 – first known use in Merriam-Webster.^[9]
• 1633 – a dance.^[12]
• mid-17th century – verb, to attend a ball.^[7]
• 1945 – a very good time.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A large formal social gathering for dancing.
2. (informal) A very enjoyable time: had a ball.

Word family

• ballroom
• masked ball

Related words

• ballad
• ballade
• ballet
• balloon
• ballot
• bale
• bullock
• ballistic

Usage notes

In Anglo-Irish use a ball of malt is a glass of whiskey, a word of unknown origin from the early 20th century.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
13. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press