ballow

See also: Ballow

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbæ.ləʊ/
• Rhymes: -æləʊ

Etymology 1

From Middle English balowe, balwe, balgh, from Old English bælg, bæliġ (“bag, purse, leathern bottle, pair of bellows, pod, husk”), from Proto-Germanic *balgiz (“bag”). Doublet of belly, bellows, and bulge.

Adjective

ballow (comparative more ballow, superlative most ballow)

1. (obsolete) Round; pot-bellied.
   • 1612, Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion, song 3 p. 40:

     A horse of greater speed, nor yet a righter hound,
     Not any where twixt Kent and Calidon is found.
     Nor yet the levell South can shewe a smoother Race,
     Whereas the ballow Nag out-strips the winds in chase;

Etymology 2

Unknown.

Noun

ballow (plural ballows)

1. (nautical) Deep water inside a shoal or bar.

References

• “ballow”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.