English Dictionary: ball cock | by the DICT Development Group |
3 results for ball cock | |
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Ball \Ball\ (b[add]l), n. [OE. bal, balle; akin to OHG. balla, palla, G. ball, Icel. b[94]llr, ball; cf. F. balle. Cf. 1st {Bale}, n., {Pallmall}.] 1. Any round or roundish body or mass; a sphere or globe; as, a ball of twine; a ball of snow. 2. A spherical body of any substance or size used to play with, as by throwing, knocking, kicking, etc. 3. A general name for games in which a ball is thrown, kicked, or knocked. See {Baseball}, and {Football}. 4. Any solid spherical, cylindrical, or conical projectile of lead or iron, to be discharged from a firearm; as, a cannon ball; a rifle ball; -- often used collectively; as, powder and ball. Spherical balls for the smaller firearms are commonly called {bullets}. 5. (Pyrotechnics & Mil.) A flaming, roundish body shot into the air; a case filled with combustibles intended to burst and give light or set fire, or to produce smoke or stench; as, a fire ball; a stink ball. 6. (Print.) A leather-covered cushion, fastened to a handle called a ballstock; -- formerly used by printers for inking the form, but now superseded by the roller. 7. A roundish protuberant portion of some part of the body; as, the ball of the thumb; the ball of the foot. 8. (Far.) A large pill, a form in which medicine is commonly given to horses; a bolus. --White. 9. The globe or earth. --Pope. Move round the dark terrestrial ball. --Addison. {Ball and socket joint}, a joint in which a ball moves within a socket, so as to admit of motion in every direction within certain limits. {Ball bearings}, a mechanical device for lessening the friction of axle bearings by means of small loose metal balls. {Ball cartridge}, a cartridge containing a ball, as distinguished from a blank cartridge, containing only powder. {Ball cock}, a faucet or valve which is opened or closed by the fall or rise of a ball floating in water at the end of a lever. {Ball gudgeon}, a pivot of a spherical form, which permits lateral deflection of the arbor or shaft, while retaining the pivot in its socket. --Knight. {Ball lever}, the lever used in a ball cock. {Ball of the eye}, the eye itself, as distinguished from its lids and socket; -- formerly, the pupil of the eye. {Ball valve} (Mach.), a contrivance by which a ball, placed in a circular cup with a hole in its bottom, operates as a valve. {Ball vein} (Mining), a sort of iron ore, found in loose masses of a globular form, containing sparkling particles. {Three balls}, or {Three golden balls}, a pawnbroker's sign or shop. Syn: See {Globe}. | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Cock \Cock\, n. [AS. coc; of unknown origin, perh. in imitation of the cry of the cock. Cf. {Chicken}.] 1. The male of birds, particularly of gallinaceous or domestic fowls. 2. A vane in the shape of a cock; a weathercock. Drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks! --Shak. 3. A chief man; a leader or master. [Humorous] Sir Andrew is the cock of the club, since he left us. --Addison. 4. The crow of a cock, esp. the first crow in the morning; cockcrow. [Obs.] He begins at curfew, and walks till the first cock. --Shak. 5. A faucet or valve. Note: Jonsons says, [bd]The handly probably had a cock on the top; things that were contrived to turn seem anciently to have had that form, whatever was the reason.[b8] Skinner says, because it used to be constructed in forma crit[91] galli, i.e., in the form of a cock's comb. 6. The style of gnomon of a dial. --Chambers. 7. The indicator of a balance. --Johnson. 8. The bridge piece which affords a bearing for the pivot of a balance in a clock or watch. --Knight. {Ball cock}. See under {Ball}. {Chaparral cock}. See under {Chaparral}. {Cock and bull story}, {an extravagant}, boastful story; a canard. {Cock of the plains} (Zo[94]l.) See {Sage cock}. {Cock of the rock} (Zo[94]l.), a South American bird ({Rupicola aurantia}) having a beautiful crest. {Cock of the walk}, a chief or master; the hero of the hour; one who has overcrowed, or got the better of, rivals or competitors. {Cock of the woods}. See {Capercailzie}. |