Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Ball \Ball\ (b[add]l), n. [OE. bal, balle; akin to OHG. balla,
   palla, G. ball, Icel. b["o]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      inking the form, but now superseded by the roller.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}.

Bearing \Bear"ing\, n.
   1. The manner in which one bears or conducts one's self;
      mien; behavior; carriage.

            I know him by his bearing.            --Shak.

   2. Patient endurance; suffering without complaint.

   3. The situation of one object, with respect to another, such
      situation being supposed to have a connection with the
      object, or influence upon it, or to be influenced by it;
      hence, relation; connection.

            But of this frame, the bearings and the ties, The
            strong connections, nice dependencies. --Pope.

   4. Purport; meaning; intended significance; aspect.

   5. The act, power, or time of producing or giving birth; as,
      a tree in full bearing; a tree past bearing.

            [His mother] in travail of his bearing. --R. of
                                                  Gloucester.

   6. (Arch.)
      (a) That part of any member of a building which rests upon
          its supports; as, a lintel or beam may have four
          inches of bearing upon the wall.
      (b) The portion of a support on which anything rests.
      (c) Improperly, the unsupported span; as, the beam has
          twenty feet of bearing between its supports.

   7. (Mach.)
      (a) The part of an axle or shaft in contact with its
          support, collar, or boxing; the journal.
      (b) The part of the support on which a journal rests and
          rotates.

   8. (Her.) Any single emblem or charge in an escutcheon or
      coat of arms -- commonly in the pl.

            A carriage covered with armorial bearings.
                                                  --Thackeray.

   9. (Naut.)
      (a) The situation of a distant object, with regard to a
          ship's position, as on the bow, on the lee quarter,
          etc.; the direction or point of the compass in which
          an object is seen; as, the bearing of the cape was W.
          N. W.
      (b) pl. The widest part of a vessel below the plank-sheer.
      (c) pl. The line of flotation of a vessel when properly
          trimmed with cargo or ballast.

   {Ball bearings}. See under {Ball}.

   {To bring one to his bearings}, to bring one to his senses.
      

   {To lose one's bearings}, to become bewildered.

   {To take bearings}, to ascertain by the compass the position
      of an object; to ascertain the relation of one object or
      place to another; to ascertain one's position by reference
      to landmarks or to the compass; hence (Fig.), to ascertain
      the condition of things when one is in trouble or
      perplexity.

   Syn: Deportment; gesture; mien; behavior; manner; carriage;
        demeanor; port; conduct; direction; relation; tendency;
        influence.