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Equipoise between the weights in opposite scales.

A ridge of land left unplowed between furrows, or at the end of a field; a piece missed by the plow slipping aside. Bad plowmen made balks of such ground. Fuller.

A leap of a horse, as between two pillars, or upon a straight line, so that when his four feet are in the air, he shows only the shoes of his hind feet, without jerking out.

In France, a second ballot taken after an indecisive first ballot to decide between two or several candidates.

cricket (Zoöl.), the European cicada. Tennyson. -- Balm of Gilead (Bot.), a small evergreen African and Asiatic tree of the terebinthine family (Balsamodendron Gileadense). Its leaves yield, when bruised, a strong aromatic scent; and from this tree is obtained the balm of Gilead of the shops, or balsam of Mecca. This…

That which serves as the means of union or connection between persons; a tie. "To join in Hymen's bands." Shak.

A person who, in accordance with the terms of a law relating to bankruptcy, has been judicially declared to be unable to meet his liabilities.

The space between the tusks and grinders in the upper jaw of a horse, in which the bit is placed.

e species best known; its oblong red berries are made into a preserve or sauce, and have been deemed efficacious in fluxes and fevers. The bark dyes a fine yellow, esp. the bark of the root. [Also spelt berberry.]

Wearing rich caparisons. Fifteen hundred men . . . barded and richly trapped. Stow.

An agreement between parties concerning the sale of property; or a contract by which one party binds himself to transfer the right to some property for a consideration, and the other party binds himself to receive the property and pay the consideration. A contract is a bargain that is legally binding. Wharton.…

A court held in Derbyshire, in England, for deciding controversies between miners. Blount.

territorial division, corresponding nearly to the English hundred, and supposed to have been originally the district of a native chief. There are 252 of these baronies. In Scotland, an extensive freehold. It may be held by a commoner. Brande & C.

u (Zoöl.), a small reindeer (Rangifer Groenlandicus) peculiar to the Barren Grounds and Greenland.

oon channel more or less extensive. -- To fight at barriers, to fight with a barrier between, as a martial exercise. [Obs.]

ugite and triclinic feldspar, with grains of magnetic or titanic iron, and also bottle- green particles of olivine frequently disseminated.

-- called also foundation course. (b) The architectural member forming the transition between the basement and the wall above. -- Base hit (Baseball), a hit, by which the batsman, without any error on the part of his opponents, is able to reach the first base without being put out. -- Base line. (a) A main line taken…

A short sword or dagger, worn in the fifteenth century. [Written also baslard.] Fairholt.

Of or pertaining to that part of the base of the cranium between the basioccipital and the presphenoid, which usually ossifies separately in the embryo or in the young, and becomes a part of the sphenoid in the adult.

A game at cards, resembling the modern faro, said to have been invented at Venice. Some dress, some dance, some play, not to forget Your piquet parties, and your dear basset. Rowe.