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In a balloon, the braced wooden ring attached to the suspension ropes at the bottom, functionally analogous to the keel of a ship.

g its body with water or air, so as to resemble a chestnut bur; -- called also ball fish, balloon fish, and swellfish.

be crushed in together; as, a flue in the boiler of a steam engine sometimes collapses. A balloon collapses when the gas escapes from it. Maunder.

Capable of being directed; steerable; as, a dirigible balloon.

as by, a current of water or air; as, the ship drifted astern; a raft drifted ashore; the balloon drifts slowly east. We drifted o'er the harbor bar. Coleridge.

ng fire by smothering it with some incombustible vapor or gas, as carbonic acid. -- Fire balloon. (a) A balloon raised in the air by the buoyancy of air heated by a fire placed in the lower part. (b) A balloon sent up at night with fireworks which ignite at a regulated height. Simmonds. -- Fire bar, a grate bar. --…

ing or scheming. [Obs.] John the bastard Whose spirits toil in frame of villainies. Shak. Balloon frame, Cant frames, etc. See under Balloon, Cant, etc. -- Frame building or house, a building of which the form and support is made of framed timbers. [U.S.] -- Frame level, a mason's level. -- Frame saw, a thin saw stre…

ider (Zoöl.), any small or young spider which spins webs by which to sail in the air. See Ballooning spider.

A rope hung from a balloon or dirigible so as trail along the ground for about half its length, used to preserve altitude automatically, by variation of the length dragging on the ground, without loss of ballast or gas.

spiral motion; motion about an axis; rotation; revolution. The gyrations of an ascending balloon. De Quincey. If a burning coal be nimbly moved round in a circle, with gyrations continually repeated, the whole circle will appear like fire. Sir I. Newton.

own substance, being fourteen and a half times lighter than air (hence its use in filling balloons), and over eleven thousand times lighter than water. It is very abundant, being an ingredient of water and of many other substances, especially those of animal or vegetable origin. It may by produced in many ways, but is…

Filled, as with air or gas; blown up; distended; as, a balloon inflated with gas.

A balloon which ascends by the buoyancy of air heated by a fire; a fire balloon; -- so called from two brothers, Stephen and Joseph Montgolfier, of France, who first constructed and sent up a fire balloon.

The basket suspended from a balloon; hence, the framework forming the body of a dirigible balloon, and containing the machinery, passengers, etc.

vance somewhat in the form of an umbrella, by means of which a descent may be made from a balloon, or any eminence.

The cowcatcher of a locomotive. [U.S.] Pilot balloon, a small balloon sent up in advance of a large one, to show the direction and force of the wind. -- Pilot bird. (Zoöl.) (a) A bird found near the Caribbee Islands; - - so called because its presence indicates to mariners their approach to these islands. Crabb. (b) T…

A cord by which the gas bag of a balloon may be ripped open for a limited distance to release the gas quickly and so cause immediate descent.

A long patch, on a balloon, to be ripped off, by the rip cord, at landing, in order to allow the immediate escape of gas and instant deflation of the bag.

To expose to hazard; to risk; to hazard; as, to venture one's person in a balloon. I am afraid; and yet I'll venture it. Shak.

or by the impulse of waves, as of water or air; to bear along on a buoyant medium; as, a balloon was wafted over the channel. A gentle wafting to immortal life. Milton. Speed the soft intercourse from soul to soul, And waft a sigh from Indus to the pole. Pope.