balk

Etymology 1

From Middle English balke, from Old English balca, either from or influenced by Old Norse bálkr (“partition, ridge of land”), from Proto-Germanic *balkô. Cognate with Dutch balk (“balk”), German Balken (“balk”), Italian balcone (“balcony”).

noun

1. (agriculture) An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing.
2. (archaeology) The wall of earth at the edge of an excavation.
3. Beam, crossbeam; squared timber; a tie beam of a house, stretching from wall to wall, especially when laid so as to form a loft, "the balks".
4. A hindrance or disappointment; a check.
   , "Concealment of Sin" a balk to the confidence of the bold undertaker
5. A sudden and obstinate stop.
6. (obsolete) An omission.
7. (sports) A deceptive motion.
   1. (baseball) An illegal motion by the pitcher, intended to deceive a runner.
   2. (badminton) A motion used to deceive the opponent during a serve.
8. (billiards) The area of the table lying behind the line from which the cue ball is initially shot, and from which a ball in hand must be played.
9. (snooker) The area of the table lying behind the baulk line.
10. (fishing) The rope by which fishing nets are fastened together.

verb

1. (archaic) To pass over or by.
2. To omit, miss, or overlook by chance.
3. (obsolete) To miss intentionally; to avoid.
   Nor doth he any creature balk, / But lays on all he meeteth. 1627, Michael Drayton, Nymphidia
4. To stop, check, block.
5. To stop short and refuse to go on.
   The horse balked.
   I’ve seen cattle that were handled in two identical facilities easily walk through one and balk in the other. 1995, Temple Grandin, Thinking in Pictures, page 6
6. To refuse suddenly.
7. To disappoint; to frustrate.
   to balk expectation
8. To engage in contradiction; to be in opposition.
9. To leave or make balks in.
10. To leave heaped up; to heap up in piles.
11. (sports, intransitive) To make a deceptive motion to deceive another player.
    The best advice you can receive regarding balking is to always maintain poise and composure on the mound. 2013, Aaron Wisewell, The Baseball Coach

Etymology 2

Probably from Dutch balken (“to bray, bawl”).

verb

1. To indicate to fishermen, by shouts or signals from shore, the direction taken by the shoals of herring.