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ball

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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
  • 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