balloonn.

Brit.

/bəˈluːn/, U.S.

/bəˈlun/

Forms: 1500s balonne, 1500s–1600s baloune, 1500s–1700s ballone, 1500s–1700s baloone, 1500s–1800s ballon, 1600s balloone, 1600s balloun, 1600s balloune, 1600s ballown, 1600s ballowne, 1600s baloun, 1600s–1700s balon, 1600s–1700s balone, 1600s– balloon, 1600s– baloon (now nonstandard).

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French ballon.

Etymology: < Middle French, French ballon hollow spherical firework (1549), large inflated ball used in ball games (1557), game played with this ball (1580 or earlier), large globular glass vessel used in chemical experiments (1676 in the passage translated in quot. 1678 at sense 5, or earlier), hot-air balloon (1783; the use to denote a toy is apparently not paralleled in French until later (1877)), small bag of rubber or latex that is inflated inside a hollow organ (1898 in a medical context, with reference to such a bag inflated inside the uterus used to provoke the onset of labour), either < balle (see bale n.³) + -on -oon suffix, or < Italian (regional: Northern) †ballone large inflated ball used in ball games (although this is apparently first attested later: 1585; compare quot. 1598 at sense 1b; < balla (see bale n.³) + -one -oon suffix). Compare Spanish balón (third quarter of the 16th cent.); also Dutch ballon (1636), German Ballon (16th cent.), all originally in sense 1b.The usual Italian word is pallone (a1565 in sense ‘large inflated ball used in ball games’, 1595 denoting an empty, inflated, or hollow person (compare sense 4), beginning of the 17th cent. in sense ‘large globular glass vessel used in chemical experiments’, 1791 in sense ‘hot-air balloon’ (slightly earlier in the compound pallone aerostatico (1783); in this sense after French); < palla ball (see pall-mall n.) + -one -oon suffix). With sense 6 compare air balloon n. 2 and slightly later aerostat n. 1. With the balloon goes up at Phrases perhaps compare:1819 M. Y. Scott Balloon in Fatal Jest & Other Poems 136 ‘Huzza! Huzza! clear, clear the way! Run—the Balloon goes up today!’ See old and young, black, white and all Fill every passage to Vaux-hall!

I. A ball or spherical object.

a. A game played with a large inflated ball of strong double leather, struck to and fro with the arm protected by a wooden bracer. Also attributive in balloon ball. In later use historical and regional.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > handball, etc. > [noun] > other handball games

cache1444

hand in and hand out1478

cachepell1539

hand-out1540

knappan1573

wind-ball1578

balloon?1591

bord-and-cord1591

hurlingc1600

pize-balla1796

trigon1842

pallone1859

push-ball1895

throwball1895

punchball1908

wallyball1982

?1591 T. Coningsby Jrnl. Siege Rouen (Harl. 288) 29 in Camden Misc. (1847) I The 19. and 20. we passed in making good cheare..ryding of horses, playing at ballone, and the lyke.

1603 T. North tr. Plutarch Lives (ed. 2) ii. 52 He would play at tennis, at the ballone..[Fr. au ieu de paume & de la bale; L. ad pilam primo folliculumque transiit].

1605 G. Chapman et al. Eastward Hoe i. sig. B Wee had a match at Baloone.., with my Lord Whachum, for foure crownes.

1629 J. Ford Lover's Melancholy ii. i. sig. D2^v Where's your great Horse, your Hounds, your set at Tennis, Your Balloone ball, the practice of your dancing.

a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Leic. 137 Being challenged by an Italian Gentleman to play at Baloun.

1726 F. Altieri Dizionario Italiano & Inglese Bracciale, a bracer to put on one's arm when one plays at balloon.

1791 J. Townsend Journey Spain II. 405 A company of young gentlemen, who amused themselves..with their favourite diversion of the balloon.

1801 J. Strutt Sports & Pastimes ii. iii. 76 The balloon-ball seems certainly to have originated from the hand-ball, and was..first played in England without the assistance of the bracer.

1820 W. Scott Monastery II. vii. 234 The winning party at that wondrous match at ballon.

1927 Times 18 June 17 [At the Cotswold games] cudgel-playing and backsword, wrestling,..playing at balloon or hand ball, leap-frog.., are among the country sports for which substantial prizes..are distributed.

1950 G. S. Dugdale Whitehall through Cents. 24 Tennis and balloon-ball were not the only games played at Whitehall on the Cockpit side.

1991 Hist. Today Oct. 27/1 Dutch artists show us the sports both of the well-to-do and the poor: games like ‘balloon’—a precursor of volley-ball, played by elegantly dressed young men in teams of two or three.

†b. The ball used in this game; (also) any similar inflated ball hit or kicked for recreation or sport. Obsolete.

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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > handball, etc. > [noun] > other handball games > equipment

fist-ball1585

balloon1598

balloon bracer1650

1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Ballone, a great ball, a ballone to play at with braces, a footeball.

1605 J. Sylvester tr. Ionas in tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. 520 One ship, that skips from starres to ground, From waue to waue (like Balloones wyndie bound).

1626 T. Hawkins tr. N. Caussin Holy Court I. ii. 234 Windblowne Balones..tossed this way and that way, sometyme with the foote, sometyme with the hand.

1696 B. Kennett Romæ Antiquæ Notitia ii. v. 244 The Ancients had four sorts of..Balls us'd for Exercise and Diversion. The Follis, or Balloon, which they struck about with their Arm, guarded for that purpose with a wooden Bracer: Or if the Balloon was little, they us'd only their Fists.

1709 S. Dunster tr. Horace Satires ii. ii. 135 Party at Quoits, or play with the Balloon; your Intenseness on the Diversion will render the Fatigue insensible to you.

1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod ii. iii. 88 The balloon or wind-ball resembled the follis of the Romans.

2. Architecture. A round ball or globe crowning a pillar, pier, etc.

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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > architectural ornament > [noun] > other ornaments

pommela1300

crest1430

finial1448

balloon1592

brattishingc1593

knob1610

cartouche1611

ogive1611

fret1626

galace1663

acroterion1664

paternoster1728

semi-urn1742

patera1776

purfling1780

sailing course1807

vesica piscis (also piscium)1809

antefix1819

vesica1820

garland1823

stop1825

Aaron's rod1830

headwork1831

Vitruvian scroll1837

hip knob1838

stelea1840

ball-flower1840

notch-head1843

brandishing1846

buckle1848

cat's-head1848

bucrane1854

cresting1869

semi-ball1875

canephorus1880

crest-board1881

wave pattern1905

husk1934

foliate head1939

green man1939

1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 34 Al the space vnspoken of..did containe an elegant Cigrued Nymph. And vnder the Syme was another quarter wrought with Thors, Torques, Ballons and a Plinth [It. cum thori, torque, & Scotie, & Plintho].

1656 T. Blount Glossographia Ballon,..the round Globe or top of a pillar.

1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. (at cited word) A balloon is to be proportioned to the magnitude, and altitude of the body.

1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. Gloss. 929 Balloon,..the same name is given to the balls on the top of cathedrals, as at..St. Paul's in London.

1999 J. S. Curl Dict. Archit. 50/2 Balloon... Large ball, balloon , globe, or sphere placed above a column or pier as a termination.

†3. A hollow spherical firework designed to explode with a shower of bright sparks; = shell n. 21d. Also attributive in balloon-wheel. Obsolete.

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the world > matter > light > firework > [noun] > in form of ball that bursts

balloon1629

air balloon1749

1629 F. Malthus tr. Treat. Artific. Fire-works 64 Although that ballouns are absolutely the most noble sort of fireworkes, yet for so much as all great fireworkes are composed rather of rockets, then of ballouns I thinke it conuenient, to begin the second treatise with these.

1634 J. Bate Myst. Nature & Art ii. 83 Into this Balloone you may put Rockets, Serpents, Starres, Fiends, Petards.

1753 Public Advertiser 24 Sept. Order of Firing..(2) Sky-rockets..(4) Two Air-Balloons..(13) Two Balloons..(19) A large Balloon Wheel which throws out of eight Boxes, Stars and Serpents.

1776 J. Cook 2nd Voy. round World 75 At night we played off sky-rockets, balloons and fountains of fire, to please the natives, at which they expressed great wonder and delight.

1853 G. Dodd in Househ. Words 10 Sept. 47/1 A Balloon..is a shell propelled from a mortar, and made to scatter squibs, crackers, serpents, and stars.

4. figurative. A person or thing regarded as inflated, empty, or hollow.

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the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > insubstantial

triflec1290

vainc1330

winda1382

vapour1382

gossamer?a1400

visevase1481

good morrow1542

cobweb1579

superficial1579

puff1583

bladder1589

blathery1591

froth1594

bag of winda1599

moth1600

nominala1625

tumour1630

windlestraw1637

vacuity1648

balloon1656

blank1678

breath bubble1835

nominality1842

fluff1906

cotton candy1931

1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini Ragguagli di Parnasso ii. liv. 317 Vain-glory, with which some Princes of Europe have of late years swoln many French Ballowns [It. palloni Francesi].

1792 J. Wolcot Pair Lyric Epist. to Ld. Macartney (new ed.) 2 No poltroons, Swell'd by the gas of courage to balloons.

1812 Ld. Byron Parenthet. Addr. Borne in the vast balloon of Busby's song.

1829 T. Carlyle German Playwrights in Foreign Rev. Jan. 98 The hollow balloon of popular applause.

1979 G. Durrell Picnic & Suchlike Pandemonium 155 A kitchen ruled over by a red balloon of a chef.

1993 Boulevard Spring 199 He..sucks one great puffcheeked mouthful of spirits,..then releases his fat balloon of face with a sneeze burst of spray.

5. Chemistry. A large globular glass vessel or flask with one or more necks. In later use frequently attributive in balloon flask.

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the world > matter > chemistry > equipment or apparatus > [noun] > general vessels > glass > others

urinalc1300

recipient1558

matrass1591

tritory1660

balloon1678

proof-glass1765

air-bell1782

transfer-jar1827

ignition tube1874

beaker1877

bell-jar1877

flask1878

steam-bomb1895

Nessler tube1906

oxygen bottle1932

1678 tr. M. Charas Royal Pharmacopœa iii. xxv. 148 You may put on again and relute the little Globe, or Balon [Fr. Balon], and continue the Distillation with a very violent fire.

1682 G. Hartman Digby's Choice Coll. Rare Secrets i. 37 Put all the Liquor and Salt that cometh over, to digest and circulate a Month in fimo, in a great Ballon close shut.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Ballon, in Chymistry, a French Word for a large round short-neck'd Matrass, or Vessel.

1784 J. Priestley in Philos. Trans. 1783 (Royal Soc.) 73 417 Interposing a large glass balloon between the retort and the recipient for the air.

1851 S. F. Baird tr. J. G. Heck Iconogr. Encycl. I. Chem. 31 We pour in enough of the liquid, the density of whose vapor is to be ascertained, for the volume of the vapor generated to exceed the volume of the balloon.

1899 Jrnl. Physical Chem. 3 196 The boiling-point readings..were taken after adding small amounts of acetone to water in a one liter balloon flask.

1918 Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci. 1916–17 28 140 The process used consists in heating a quantity of finely pulverized coffee in a balloon flask contained in an oil bath at about 175° to 200°.

1965 Technol. & Culture 6 572 The upper part of the glass balloon stands out of the furnace, and is kept relatively cool by the air.

2001 Stud. in Conservation 46 122/2 Oxidized oil sample was weighed precisely and introduced into a 50ml balloon flask with 7ml of 10:1 isopropanol/acetic acid..solution.

II. An air balloon, and related senses.

6. A usually round or pear-shaped airtight bag or envelope (originally of paper or silk, now often of synthetic material) designed to rise into the air when inflated with hot air or a gas that is lighter than air, typically supporting beneath it a basket in which passengers are carried; a hot-air balloon.The first manned balloon flight took place in 1783, in the Montgolfier balloon (see Montgolfier n.).

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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > balloons and airships > [noun] > balloon

air balloon1783

balloon1783

aerostat1784

gas balloon1785

1783 European Mag. & London Rev. Oct. 272 Monsieur de Montgolfiers Air Balloon.

1783 (title) The air balloon: or a treatise on the aerostatic globe lately invented by Mons. Montgolfier.

1783 W. Cowper Let. 29 Sept. (1981) II. 165 What is your Opinion of these Air-balloons? I am quite charmed with the discovery.

1785 J. Priestley in Philos. Trans. 75 297 Filling balloons with the lightest inflammable air.

1807 W. Wordsworth Poems II. 74 The bravest Traveller in balloon, Mounting as if to reach the moon.

1831 D. Lardner Pneumatics vii. 339 The step from fire balloons to balloons filled with gas..was now easy and obvious.

1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits x. 164 Steam..already..is ruddering the balloon, and the next war will be fought in the air.

1885 N.E.D. at Balloon To large balloons a car strong enough to carry human beings can be attached, and hence they are used for observing atmospheric phenomena, for military reconnoitring, and, though with little success at present, as a means of travelling through the air.

1921 Times 19 Sept. 9/6 A large crowd gathered this afternoon to see the start of the balloon race for the Gordon-Bennett Cup.

1940 T. H. Harrisson & C. H. Madge War begins at Home v. 125 The [barrage] balloons, so suitably called blimps, became a major symbol in the first three months of the war.

1958 A. Marshack World in Space v. 76 The Japanese had discovered, in sending up weather balloons, that high winds..usually blew over the Pacific toward the United States.

1967 New Scientist 1 June 549/3 The balloon itself was constructed of fine polythene and helium-filled... It was soft-landed and recovered for further use.

2001 Geographical 73 98 When I pilot balloons abroad, I usually travel there first, rather than fly to these places by balloon.

†7. = balloon-cap n. at Compounds 1b. Obsolete. rare.

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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > cap > types of > other

toque1505

biggin1511

button cap1527

undercap1531

biggin1558

fool's cap1577

apex1578

blue capa1586

wishing-cap1600

Wantage cap1609

infernal1610

porringer1623

montera1626

montera cap1652

school cap1736

wing cap1775

balloon1784

balloon-cap1785

spider-cap1790

poke-fly cap1810

strap-cap1820

mandarin cap1835

porringer-cap1839

chechia1853

turban1862

mitre1877

turban-cap1881

half-cap1893

pillbox cap1897

Queen Mary hat1928

snap-back1937

songkok1960

pakul1982

1784 E. Sheridan Let. in Betsy Sheridan's Jrnl. (1986) i. 26 Even silk Balloons are almost out—I have not seen a Cap since I came.

a. A small coloured bag, now usually of rubber or polythene, which is inflated with air or a light gas, sealed at the neck, and used as a child's toy or a decoration. Also (in collocation with burst, prick, puncture, etc.) as the type of collapsed enterprise, hope, enthusiasm, etc.

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society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > ball or balloon > [noun]

ball?c1225

wind-ball1578

toss-ball1681

air ball1756

balloon1800

poi1817

gum ball1855

air balloon1883

beach-ball1940

1800 Spirit Public Jrnls. 1799 3 283 The bursting of a paper balloon has caused as much affliction to a child, as the failure of a political enterprise to a statesman.

1858 Househ. Words 410 168/2 Amateurs were able to supply themselves with toy balloons made of goldbeaters' leaf, and bearing the name of Minimum.

1865 A. Megson Recoll. Lupset 7 Then come the balloons,..those aerial toys which ever and anon drop short in the sheep pasture.

1877 Punch 10 Nov. 210 And those lovely Balloons they give one, with ‘Louvre’ printed on them.

1902 J. M. Barrie Little White Bird xiii. 128 You speak to the lady with the balloons, who sits just outside [Kensington Gardens]... She sits very squat, for the balloons are always tugging at her.

1922 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald 23 36/5 His business, like a punctured balloon, slowly grew smaller and smaller.

1926 A. A. Milne Winnie-the-Pooh i. 10 It just happened that you had been to a party the day before.., and you had balloons at the party.

1937 N. Streatfeild Caroline England xii. 186 I'm blown up like a penny balloon.

1951 M. Kennedy Lucy Carmichael ii. i. 88 I get quite interested..for about 5 minutes and then—poof! I go flat like a burst balloon.

1977 New Yorker 10 Oct. 192/3 As a pricker of such balloons, he was without parallel.

1994 Prairie Fire Summer 228 He..takes the time to puncture the balloons of such born-again vitalists as Roger Penrose.

2006 New Yorker 6 Feb. 56/1 She'd received..some blue balloons and a chocolate-chip cake.

b. Medicine. A small bag of rubber or latex that is inflated inside a hollow organ, typically to occlude or distend it; (in later use) spec. a balloon catheter. Cf. balloon catheter n., balloon angioplasty n. at Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > other surgical equipment > [noun] > tube or cannula > catheter

cathering?1541

catheter1601

algalie1739

suspensor1747

balloon1911

balloon catheter1941

microballoon1964

1911 Lancet 29 Apr. 1119/1 Distension of the exposed intestine by a balloon, whilst its attachment was kept relaxed, at once caused a sensation of ‘wind’ to be felt below the umbilicus.

1947 Amer. Jrnl. Med. 3 424/1 The stomach is distended by inflating a rubber balloon attached to the lower end of the gastroscope.

1989 Atlantic Sept. 39/2 In angioplasty a tiny balloon would squeeze the lesions open.

2006 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 2 Apr. v. 3/4 Abbott will also acquire devices such as catheters, guide wires and ‘balloons’ used to unblock arteries before stents are placed.

a. A balloon-shaped outline in which the words or thoughts of a person, esp. a character in a cartoon or comic strip, are represented.

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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > drawing > [noun] > a drawing > comic or cartoon > balloon or bubble

balloon1843

bubble1915

thinks balloon1959

think bubble1964

thinks bubble1981

think balloon2002

1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) xxxi. 376 Diabolical sentiments..were represented as issuing from his mouth in fat balloons.

1868 L. M. Alcott Little Women I. iv. 66 She drew a picture of Mr. Davis, with..the words ‘Young ladies, my eye is upon you!’ coming out of his mouth in a balloon thing.

1947 N. Marsh Final Curtain xii. 190 One almost expected some dubious caption to issue in a balloon from her lips.

1963 Listener 7 Feb. 252/2 The device found in comics where a balloon is shown coming out of a character's head with ‘thinks’ written over it.

1974 Afr. Stud. Rev. 17 335 This is a ‘photo-novelette’—a story told through photographs with ‘balloons’ of dialogue, accompanied by a running text.

2007 Wired May 131/1 ‘The idea of the dialog bubbles always bothered me’, he says... That's a major tip-off—a true comics fan knows those things are called speech balloons.

b. A rounded outline, typically in a margin, containing notes or corrections to written or printed matter.

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society > communication > printing > printers' symbols and directions > [noun] > outline enclosing words for insertion

balloon1935

1935 D. L. Sayers Gaudy Night iii. 45 I'm afraid it's rather full of marginal balloons and interlineations.

1956 F. Swinnerton Background with Chorus ii. xvii. 194 Balloons thereafter adorned the galley proofs.

1983 Notes & Queries Aug. 310/1 Nearly every leaf of this manuscript shows late additions in the form of interlineations and marginal balloons.

1999 C. H. Berman Cistercian Evolution (2000) 61 The earlier version..is thus a palimpsest, with its text..occasionally apparent beneath the considerable emendations, scrapings, replacements, marginal balloons, [etc.].

†10. Horticulture. Short for balloon trellis at Compounds 3a. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > equipment and buildings > [noun] > trellis or framework

trailc1460

trellis1513

palisado1604

counter-espalier1658

palisade1658

pole hedge1658

treillage1698

trellis-work1712

espalier1736

trellis-frame1766

trainer1836

balloon1881

trellising1913

palm-stand1926

wigwam1961

1881 Gardeners' Chron. 16 336 Plants that have been trained on balloons twenty years ago, are treated in the same way still.

11. Sport. colloquial.

a. A lofty hit or kick given to a cricket ball, baseball, or football.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > [noun] > manner of playing ball

bata1400

back-swing1577

banding1589

stroke1662

stop1773

swipe1788

straik1820

screwing1825

return1833

volleying1837

return stroke1838

volley1851

swiper1853

shot1868

handling1870

screw kick1870

mishit1882

smash1882

misfield1886

fumble1895

run-up1897

mishitting1900

balloon1904

carryback1905

placement1909

tonk1922

trick shot1924

retrieve1952

sizzler1960

undercut1960

shotmaking1969

1904 Daily Chron. 8 June 5/3 With his score at 45 Jackson was missed off a ‘balloon’ in the long field by Gooder.

1922 Daily Mail 8 Dec. 11 For the most part the ball was kicked anywhere—for choice high in the air. ‘There's no one up there,’ shouted an ironical spectator after one of many balloons.

2002 Re: Trek World Cup in alt.startrek (Usenet newsgroup) 2 June Kicking a balloon from the midfield which entered the goal over the goalkeeper without him noticing.

b. Cricket. = duck n.¹ 7. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > [noun] > running > no score by batsman

spectacles1835

egg1861

nought1862

pair1862

duck's egg1863

round O1863

duck1868

blob1889

balloon1906

1906 A. E. Knight Compl. Cricketer App. II. 341 A batsman who has failed to score gets a ‘blob’, a ‘balloon’, a ‘duck’, or ‘duck's egg’.

12. Short for balloon glass n. at Compounds 2. Cf. ballon n.² 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > containers for drink > drinking vessel > [noun] > glass

glassc888

verrea1382

Venice glass1527

rummer1625

bottle glass1626

Malaga glassa1627

flute1649

flute-glass1668

long glass1680

mum-glass1684

toasting glass1703

wine glass1709

tulip-glass1755

tun-glass1755

water glass1779

tumbler-glass1795

Madeira glass1801

tumbling glass1803

noggin glass1805

champagne glass1815

table glass1815

balloon glass1819

copita1841

firing glass1842

nobbler1842

thimble glass1843

wine1848

liqueur-glass1850

straw-stem1853

pokal1854

goblet1856

mousseline1862

pony glass1862

long-sleever1872

cocktail glass1873

champagne flute1882

yard-glass1882

sleever1896

tea-glass1898

liqueur1907

dock-glass1911

toast-master glass1916

Waterford1916

stem-glass1922

Pilsner glass1923

Amen glass1924

ballon1930

balloon goblet1931

thistle glass1935

snifter1937

balloon1951

shot-glass1955

handle1956

tulip1961

schooner1967

champagne fountain1973

the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > [noun] > specific quantity of

dramc1590

leaguer1712

finger1820

glassful1841

four1869

nip1869

half1888

two1894

snifter1910

treble1968

balloon1973

triple1981

peg2003

1951 ‘J. Wyndham’ Day of Triffids v. 101 The plutocratic-looking balloon with the puddle of unpriceable brandy was mine.

1973 J. Mills October Men ii. 32 I..drank two glasses of Chartreuse and followed it with a kummel and a balloon of triple sec.

2005 R. Rankin Brightonomicon 187 His brandy swirled about in its balloon.

13. colloquial (Scottish and Irish English (northern)). A self-important or boastful idiot; a fool. Cf. loon n.¹

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > foolish person, fool > [noun]

dizzyc825

cang?c1225

foolc1225

apec1330

mopc1330

saddle-goosec1346

mis-feelinga1382

foltc1390

mopec1390

fona1400

buffardc1430

fopc1440

joppec1440

fonda1450

fondlinga1450

insipienta1513

plume of feathers1530

bobolynec1540

dizzard1546

Little Witham?1548

nodc1563

dawkin1565

cocknel1566

nigion1570

niddicock1577

nodcock1577

cuckoo1581

Jack with the feather1581

niddipol1582

noddyship?1589

stirkc1590

fonkin1591

Gibraltar1593

fopper1598

noddypeak1598

coxcombry1600

simple1600

gowka1605

nup1607

fooliaminy1608

silly ass1608

dosser-head1612

dor1616

glow-worm1624

liripipea1625

doodle1629

sop1637

spalt1639

fool's head1650

buffle1655

Jack Adams1656

bufflehead1659

nincompoopc1668

bavian1678

nokes1679

foolanea1681

cod1699

hulver-head1699

nigmenog1699

single ten1699

mud1703

dowf1722

foolatum1740

silly billy1749

tommy noddy1774

arsec1785

nincom1800

silly1807

slob1810

omadhaun1818

potwalloper1820

mosy1824

amadan1825

gump1825

gype1825

oonchook1825

prawn1845

suck-egg1851

goosey1852

nowmun1854

pelican1856

poppy-show1860

buggerlugs1861

damfool1881

mudhead1882

yob1886

peanut head1891

haggis bag1892

poop1893

gazob1906

mush1906

wump1908

zob1911

gorm1912

goof1916

goofus1916

gubbins1916

dumb cluck1922

twat1922

B.F.1925

goofer1925

bird brain1926

berk1929

Berkeley1929

Berkeley Hunt1929

ding1929

loogan1929

stupido1929

poop-stick1930

nelly1931

droop1932

diddy1933

slappy1937

goof ball1938

get1940

poon1940

tonk1941

clot1942

yuck1943

possum1945

gobdaw1947

momo1953

nig-nog1953

plonker1955

weenie1956

nong-nong1959

Berkshire Hunt1960

balloon1965

doofus1965

dork1965

nana1965

shit-for-brains1966

schmoll1967

tosspot1967

lunchbox1969

doof1971

tonto1973

dorkus1979

motorhead1979

mouth-breather1979

wally1980

wally brain1981

der-brain1983

langer1983

numpty1985

sotong1988

fanny1995

fannybaws2000

1965 A. Sharp Green Tree in Gedde ix. 118 ‘Pray summarize.’ Now only a balloon would say something like ‘pray summarize’, Moseby thought.

1977 W. McIlvanney Laidlaw xxi. 87 Mason sat over his desk, staring at it. ‘Surrounded with balloons,’ he said, fogging the glass top. ‘What am I?’

1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. 14/2 Balloon, a person who is ‘full of hot air’, a foolish, talkative person.

2002 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 12 Sept. 20 Foul-mouthed badinage ensued, culminating in our man shouting: ‘It's simple, ya balloon! Roads for cars! Pavements, pedestrians!’

14. Finance (originally and chiefly U.S.). Short for balloon payment n. at Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > payment > [noun] > repayment

again-gift1340

repayment1421

recompense1439

refoundiment1555

paying back1598

refaction1640

refundment1665

refund1711

recouperation1865

recoup1904

balloon1972

1972 Real Estate Rev. Winter 44/2 A transaction involving depreciable property calling for a 5 percent down payment, normal interest payments, and principal payments of one percent a year for 20 years with a 75 percent balloon payment at the end will remain thin until the balloon is paid.

1994 Amer. Spectator Oct. 32/1 A second trust was taken out..for $83,500 at 8.5 percent. with a balloon making the entire balance due on June 1, 2001.

Phrases

the balloon goes up and variants: the action, excitement, or trouble starts.Perhaps originally with allusion to the release of a balloon to mark the start of an event.

ΚΠ

1909 Putnam's Mag. 5 595/2 ‘You tell Alfonso..that one more break like that will give him a good swift start for Spain.’..‘In brief, Alfonso, cut out the musical extras or your balloon goes up.’

1924 P. MacDonald Rasp xv. 210 ‘When's the magistrate's court?’.. ‘The balloon, I believe, goes up at 10 a.m.’

1932 P. G. Wodehouse Hot Water xiii. 222 This was the moment when he must put his fortune to the test, to win or lose it all. Now or never must the balloon go up.

1943 H. Bolitho Combat Rep. xxx. 79 Suddenly the balloon went up. There were 110's and 87's all around us, and the 87's started dive-bombing a jetty.

1959 Punch 21 Oct. 322/1 The international rules of war [are] apt to be waived when the balloon goes up.

1989 R. Rohmer Red Arctic x. 74 Those are the boats they want to get down into the Atlantic Ocean in the event the balloon goes up.

1993 S. McAughtry Touch & Go xiii. 99 You know and I know why we're really here, it's to protect what we have when the balloon goes up.

2004 R. Scott in Slightly Foxed Spring 79 When he tells her he wants a divorce, the balloon goes up.

Compounds

C1.

a. Objective (with verbal noun or agent noun), and instrumental, chiefly in sense 6.

balloon-borne adj.

ΚΠ

1867 Times 8 Oct. 7/3 The balloon-borne man above.

1937 Sci. Monthly Sept. 284 The bureau hopes to substitute these balloon-borne radiometeorographs for aerometeorographs attached to airplanes.

2001 A. Wolfendale in R. Catlow & S. Greenfield Cosmic Rays 1 It was natural that balloon-borne equipment should be pressed into service.

balloon corps n.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > group or unit on operation > [noun] > balloonists

flying squadron1785

balloon corps1859

balloon squadron1880

1859 Harper's Mag. Sept. 562/1 In 1794 the French organized a balloon corps to ascend and observe the distribution of the enemy.

1924 Times 4 Jan. 12/5 In 1884..a balloon corps with three balloons went out with Sir Charles Warren's Bechuanaland Expedition.

2006 Booklist (Nexis) 15 Dec. 15 [Thaddeus] Lowe is best known for organizing the Civil War Army of the Potomac's Balloon Corps, though it was disbanded because of..bureaucratic infighting, and, to some extent, the technological immaturity of balloons.

balloon driver n.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > air or space travel > people who fly in aircraft or spacecraft > [noun] > balloonist

ballooner1783

aeronaut1784

airgonaut1784

balloonist1784

aerostat1788

air-balloonist1791

voyager1826

air sailor1834

balloon driver1838

balloonatic1854

hot-air balloonist1887

1838 Let. in H. Turner Astra Castra 403 That..safest balloon-driver in the world..Mr. Green.

1910 Washington Post 12 July 3/2 Lincoln Beachy, the professional dirigible balloon driver.

2006 Essex Chron. (Nexis) 25 Oct. 16 Of course, Mum. One day I am going to be a famous balloon driver and I will take you wherever you want to go.

balloon flying n.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > air or space travel > ballooning > [noun]

airgonation1784

balloonation1784

ballooning1784

balloonery1785

balloonism1785

balloon flying1802

balloon navigation1816

aeronautism1847

hot-air ballooning1891

1802 Universal Mag. Nov. 334/2 It might be shown, by a survey of all the departments of life, that nothing is so universal as balloons, and projects of balloon-flying.

1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. iii. viii. 149 A Golden or Paper Age of Hope; with its horse-racings, balloon-flyings, etc.

1937 Times 8 Oct. 14/5 The balloon flying will take place in connexion with a peace-time exercise of the squadrons.

2006 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Jrnl. (Nexis) 24 Sept. 16 The love I have for the sport of balloon flying is something you can't write down.

balloon navigation n.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > air or space travel > ballooning > [noun]

airgonation1784

balloonation1784

ballooning1784

balloonery1785

balloonism1785

balloon flying1802

balloon navigation1816

aeronautism1847

hot-air ballooning1891

1816 G. Cayley in Philos. Mag. 47 328 Balloon navigation does hold out the capabilities I have so daringly ventured to investigate.

1862 Times 3 Oct. 5/1 A paper concerning some suggestions on balloon navigation.

2002 Patriot Ledger (Quincy, Mass.) (Nexis) 6 Aug. 15 Balloon navigation hasn't improved much [since the 18th cent.]... ‘You can't steer a balloon... You don't know where you're going to land or how long it's going to last.’

balloon shed n.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > air or space travel > airfield or airport > [noun] > hangar > for balloon or airship

balloon shed1895

harbour1909

1895 Times 30 July 4/1 Herr Andrée proposes early next summer to leave Europe for a point within the Arctic circle, where he will erect a balloon shed. Here he will fill his balloon.

1907 Westm. Gaz. 11 Sept. 8/3 The great doors of the balloon-shed were slowly opened.

2003 Canberra Times (Nexis) 12 Oct. a3 My dawn balloon flight over the desert and ranges..was cancelled... I had to settle for a visit to the balloon shed.

balloon squadron n.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > group or unit on operation > [noun] > balloonists

flying squadron1785

balloon corps1859

balloon squadron1880

1880 P. Greg Across Zodiac I. xiii. 293 One battalion of Martial guards or police..might, even without the aid of a balloon-squadron,..annihilate..the mightiest and bravest army that Europe could send forth.

1940 Ann. Reg. 1939 23 The balloon squadrons in London were now practically up to establishment.

2007 South Wales Echo (Nexis) 6 Mar. 20 They were a familiar part of our skies for three years until the balloon squadrons were disbanded in 1943.

b. Similative.

balloon-cap n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > cap > types of > other

toque1505

biggin1511

button cap1527

undercap1531

biggin1558

fool's cap1577

apex1578

blue capa1586

wishing-cap1600

Wantage cap1609

infernal1610

porringer1623

montera1626

montera cap1652

school cap1736

wing cap1775

balloon1784

balloon-cap1785

spider-cap1790

poke-fly cap1810

strap-cap1820

mandarin cap1835

porringer-cap1839

chechia1853

turban1862

mitre1877

turban-cap1881

half-cap1893

pillbox cap1897

Queen Mary hat1928

snap-back1937

songkok1960

pakul1982

1785 E. Blower Maria II. ix. 110 I think my balloon cap does not sit quite the thing to-day;—it is the first cap I have had made in the modern taste for twenty years.

1837 A. M. Hall Uncle Horace III. i. 11 There was a portrait of the dame herself, in a balloon cap, with a rose-bud sticking jauntily in her powdered hair.

1938 Burlington Mag. Aug. 56/2 It [sc. the turban] was followed by the big Egyptian balloon-cap.

balloon foresail n.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > sail > [noun] > spinnaker or balloon sail

ballooner1863

balloon foresail1864

spinnaker1866

balloon sail1872

1864 Times 7 Sept. 9 The Torpid carried her whole mainsail, with a balloon foresail.

1883 Times 27 Aug. 8/2 With balloon foresails and flying jibs.

1935 Times 13 June 4/7 Each barge has to carry not more than seven sails: mainsail, topsail, foresail, mizzen, jib, spinnaker, and squaresail or balloon foresail.

balloon hat n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > hat > other

cap (also hat) of maintenancec1475

hat1483

wishing-hat1600

cockle hat1603

porringer1623

poke1632

custard-cap1649

bonnet1675

muff-box1678

Caroline1687

Quaker1778

meat safe1782

balloon hat1784

gypsy hat1785

cabriolet1797

gypsy bonnet1803

Gypsy1806

Wellington hat1809

fan-tail-hat1810

umbrella hat1817

radical1828

caubeen1831

topi1835

montera1838

Petersham1845

squash hat1860

Moab1864

kiddy1865

flap-hat1866

Dolly Varden1872

brush-hata1877

potae1881

Pope's-hat1886

plateau1890

kelly1915

push-back1920

kiss-me-quick hat1963

pakul1982

tinfoil hat1982

1784 New Spectator No. 3. 4/2 Balloon hats now adorn the heads of..the parading impures.

1803 Lett. Miss Riversdale III. 202 She kept..running her balloon hat into every eye.

1972 Times 28 Oct. 8 [In 1784] balloon fever was at its height... Milliners were selling ‘balloon hats’, jewellers ‘balloon earrings’.

2001 D. Stevenson Beggar's Benison vii. 162 The balloonist never returned to Fife... But a fashion for balloon hats among ladies commemorated his exploits for a few years.

balloon sail n.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > sail > [noun] > spinnaker or balloon sail

ballooner1863

balloon foresail1864

spinnaker1866

balloon sail1872

1872 N.Y. Herald 13 Sept. 7/5 The wind had lightened up considerably, and was now not fresher than a regular balloon sail breeze.

1888 Times 12 July 10/3 A question was referred..as to the yacht Marguerite,..carrying a balloon sail in a race in which balloon canvas was prohibited.

1948 R. de Kerchove Internat. Maritime Dict. 34/2 Balloon sail, a general term used for light racing and cruising sails found on yachts, such as balloon jib, balloon topsail and foresail.

2000 Detroit Free Press (Nexis) 1 Feb. The wind on the sails overcame the rudder's steering power... A vertical rip appeared in the nylon cloth near the top of Cayard's big balloon sail.

balloon sleeve n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > covering spec parts of body > arm > types of

poke1402

foresleeve1538

long sleeve1538

lumbard1542

puller out1543

maunch1550

hand sleeve1585

French sleeve1592

poke sleeve1592

puff1601

trunk sleeve1603

stock-sleeve1611

hoop-sleeve1614

puff sleevec1632

short sleeve1639

hanging sleeve1659

engageants1690

jockey-sleeve1692

pudding-sleeve1704

Amadis1814

gigot1824

leg of mutton1824

bishop sleeve1829

mutton-leg sleeve1830

balloon sleeve1837

gigot-sleeve1837

bag-sleeve1844

pagoda sleeve1850

mameluke sleeve1853

angel sleeve1859

elbow-sleeve1875

sling-sleeve1888

sleevelet1889

pagoda1890

bell-sleeve1892

kimono sleeve1919–20

dolman1934

1837 Southern Literary Messenger 3 3 Women come to the spring for water in great balloon sleeves and prunella shoes.

1858 ‘G. Eliot’ Amos Barton iii, in Scenes Clerical Life I. 58 Very stiff balloon sleeves..without which a woman's dress was nought in those days.

1981 Times 29 Dec. 7/4 A Westwood, USA, balloon-sleeve cardigan at £19.95.

2006 Birmingham Post 1 Nov. 2 This balloon sleeve jacket is one of the most inventive ways of using the pattern.

c. Parasynthetic.

balloon-shaped adj.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > [adjective] > spherical or globular

roundc1300

orbicular?1440

spherical1523

spheral1571

globous1591

globy1595

bulbed1597

orbed1598

sphery1600

spheric1610

globical1612

rotundious1614

globular1626

globed1633

global1637

globose1667

spheriform1678

globosous1681

globar1699

bulbous1783

ball-shaped1802

globate1806

perispheric1828

bulb-like1836

balloon-shaped1839

bulbiform1849

globuloid1889

1839 Chinese Repository 8 42 Pepa, the balloon shaped guitar.

1936 T. Rohan Confessions of Dealer (ed. 4) 8 A large 18th century English balloon-shaped bracket clock.

2002 New Yorker 14 Oct. 94 (advt.) Delivers radiation seeds to an eligible patient's tumor site via a balloon-shaped catheter.

C2.

balloon angioplasty n. Surgery the widening of a blocked or narrowed blood vessel, esp. an artery, by means of a balloon catheter; an operation to perform this.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > surgery > fixation and repair operations > [noun] > repair > of specific parts

rhinoplastic1823

rhinoplasty1828

cheiloplasty1842

uranoplasty1844

staphyloplasty1846

uranoplastic1850

genyplasty1857

stomatoplasty1860

palatoplasty1873

posthioplasty1874

perineoplasty1875

vaginoplasty1877

myringoplasty1879

thoracoplasty1890

tracheloplasty1890

labioplasty1896

utriculoplasty1910

angioplasty1912

pyeloplasty1913

mammaplasty1938

valvuloplasty1948

tympanoplasty1955

tuboplasty1961

balloon angioplasty1980

blepharoplasty-

1980 Cardiovascular & Interventional Radiol. 3 197 Percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA) has been employed in 70 renal arteries utilizing the balloon angioplasty technique described by Grüntzig for peripheral vessels.

2000 Time 27 Mar. 105/3 Half a million patients each year have their clogged arteries Roto-Rootered with balloon angioplasty.

2001 Daily Tel. 7 Mar. 16/3 A balloon angioplasty is a simple operation, usually lasting little more than an hour.

balloon apron n. now historical a defence against hostile aircraft consisting of a connected system of balloons carrying wire cables reaching to the ground; = balloon barrage n.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > aircraft weapons or equipment > [noun] > set of captive balloons

apron1917

balloon apron1917

balloon barrage1919

1917 in H. A. Jones War in Air (1935) V. i. 68 On the 22nd of September [1917], in orders issued to home defence pilots, it was stated: ‘Balloon Aprons and other obstructions will be established.’

1925 J. Morris Ger. Air Raids on Great Brit. ii. iv. 253 The balloon apron..consisted of steel cables suspended from a line held in the air by means of captive balloons.

1929 E. B. Ashmore Air Def. v. 55 I produced my idea for a balloon apron barrage to be put up just outside London and inside the aeroplane patrol lines.

1934 Times 5 June 11/2 The magazine..is defended by anti-aircraft guns and a balloon apron.

1999 L. Brown Radar Hist. World War II i. iii. 12 The attacks on London were stopped by mid-1918 but at a cost of deploying 376 airplanes, 469 AA guns, 622 searchlights, 258 height finders, ten sound locators and a balloon apron.

balloon back n. a rounded chair back which tapers to the seat to form a balloon shape, a design popular during the Victorian age; (also) a chair with such a back; chiefly attributive, as balloon-back chair, etc.; cf. hoop-back n. at hoop n.¹ Compounds 2.

ΚΠ

1866 Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 20 Apr. (advt.) Balloon back drawing room chairs.

1937 J. N. Loring Anat. Eng. Chair Types iii. 11 The uprights of the back now exhibit a double curve, curving outwards near the middle but inwards near the top, a shaping which gives a slight waist to the back. Two main types are recognisable: (A), those with hooped crestings (Balloon backs), and (B), those with serpentine crestings (Camel backs).

1961 Connoisseur New Guide Antique Eng. Furn. 118 The balloon-back chair. In 1830 this was entirely unknown; by 1860 it had become by far the commonest type both for dining and drawing-rooms.

2004 Vancouver Sun (Nexis) 23 Apr. h3 Your chair design is a late, turned-leg version of the balloon back.

balloon barrage n. = balloon apron n.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > aircraft weapons or equipment > [noun] > set of captive balloons

apron1917

balloon apron1917

balloon barrage1919

1919 R. H. Reece Night Bombing with Bedouins iii. 45 Small blue crosses represent the position of enemy balloon barrages and their height.

1937 Flight 16 Dec. 609/2 A balloon barrage, as part of the air defences of London, is almost an accomplished fact.

2004 Herald Express (Torquay) (Nexis) 27 May 49 The terror raids that began in the winter of 1940 on a city that believed a balloon barrage and anti-aircraft guns would protect it from the Luftwaffe.

balloon bomb n. Military (chiefly U.S.) (a) a bomb dropped from a hot-air balloon (obsolete. rare); (b) a weapon consisting of a large balloon from which an explosive or incendiary device is suspended, dropping when the balloon is burst (now historical).

ΚΠ

1893 Daily Advocate (Newark, Ohio) 14 Nov. 1/3 (heading) Balloon bombs... Peixoto has now nearly ready his balloon..from which he expects to be able to drop a charge of dynamite upon Admiral Mello's flagship.

1939 San Mateo (Calif.) Times 24 Mar. 8/7 (heading) Balloon bomb defense... A timing device would burst the balloons and scatter the bombs over a wide area.

1996 Boston Globe (Nexis) 8 Dec. a1 Some balloon bombs were shot down by the US military.

balloon bracer n. [ < balloon n. + bracer n.²; compare French brassard brassard n. (1680 denoting a balloon bracer)] now historical the bracer of wood worn by a balloon player to protect the arm (cf. sense 1a).

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > handball, etc. > [noun] > other handball games > equipment

fist-ball1585

balloon1598

balloon bracer1650

1650 A. Weldon Court & Char. King James 152 Lifting up his hand over his head with a Ballon brasser.

1947 K. Hare Gloucestershire xv. 196 There was ‘balloon’, a sort of mixed foot and handball... The game was played between rival teams... Hands were protected by guards called ‘balloon-brassers’.

balloon catheter n. Surgery a catheter having a balloon or short inflatable section at or near its tip, which is introduced into a blood vessel or other tubular structure and then inflated to occlude or distend the structure or clear an obstruction.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > other surgical equipment > [noun] > tube or cannula > catheter

cathering?1541

catheter1601

algalie1739

suspensor1747

balloon1911

balloon catheter1941

microballoon1964

1941 Amer. Jrnl. Orthodontics & Oral Surg. 27 A709 A balloon catheter is introduced by direct vision through the larynx. When the balloon is inflated just below the larynx, all possibility that blood and secretion will pass down the trachea is prevented.

1963 Amer. Jrnl. Roentgenol. 90 650/2 Tourniquets, balloon catheters and gravity have been employed to achieve the desired distribution of injected contrast agents.

2002 T. J. Myers & O. H. Frazier in S. Wilansky & J. T. Willerson Heart Dis. in Women xvi. 299 The IABP [= intra-aortic balloon pump] balloon catheter is normally inserted percutaneously via the femoral artery or through a sternotomy incision and is then positioned within the descending thoracic aorta.

balloon cloth n. any strong, light, impermeable cloth used for making the bags of hot-air balloons.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > balloons and airships > [noun] > gas or air container of balloon or airship > cloth

balloon cloth1849

balloon fabric1881

the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric with specific qualities > [noun] > thin, light, or delicate > for other uses

balloon cloth1849

scrim1880

balloon fabric1881

window scrim1887

1849 Sci. Amer. 21 July 349/3 The construction of the steam balloon may not require more than 3 months, provided that such a material can be obtained for the Balloon Cloth.

1873 Times 4 Oct. 6/5 A knot of gentlemen were tearing strips from a piece of the balloon cloth they had somehow obtained, as easily as if it were paper.

1912 C. B. Hayward Pract. Aeronautics i. iii. 14 Three layers of this rubberized fabric are cemented together to form what is known as ‘balloon cloth’, which is about as impermeable a material as can be made without involving undue weight.

1917 Illustr. London News 17 Nov. 601/2 I walked inside the envelope [of a Zeppelin]... On the way I passed a tube of balloon cloth.

1945 Times 20 July 10/1 The processes we have been called upon to undertake..include such materials as balloon cloth, parachute fabrics, anti-gas clothing, [etc.].

2004 Canberra Times (Nexis) 28 Mar. The balloon is made from more than 1000 pieces of balloon cloth.

balloon fabric n. fabric used for making the bags of hot-air balloons; = balloon cloth n.; a type of this.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > balloons and airships > [noun] > gas or air container of balloon or airship > cloth

balloon cloth1849

balloon fabric1881

balloon cloth1849

scrim1880

balloon fabric1881

window scrim1887

1881 19th Cent. Jan. 108 We cannot avoid a serious loss [of hydrogen] by leakage, though our light balloon fabric does retain it much better than might fairly be expected.

1919 Type ‘M’ Kite Balloon Handbk. (U.S. Navy Dept.) iv. 37 All cloth used for balloon fabric..is inspected for flaws... The raw cloth is then coated with rubber.

1998 Textile Horizons June 16/1 The material has good violet resistance, high tear strength and good weather protection—just what you would expect from a balloon fabric.

balloonfish n. any of various puffer fishes (families Tetraodontidae and Diodontidae).

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > order Tetraodontiformes (puffers) > [noun] > family Diodontidae (porcupine-fishes) > member of

toad-fish1612

globe fish1668

sculpin1672

sea-hedgehog1711

sea-orb1774

puff-fish1807

puffer1814

balloonfish1834

swell-fish1839

tambour1854

swallow1876

blaasop1947

1834 E. Griffith et al. Cuvier's Animal Kingdom X. 579 From the faculty they [sc. the Diodontes] possess of distending their bodies with air, these fishes have received the vulgar name of..balloon-fish.

1867 Harper's Mag. Mar. 476/2 Billy and I were flattening our noses against the abode of the balloon-fish, and determining whether he looked most like a horse-chestnut burr or a ripe cucumber.

1930 C. M. Yonge Year on Great Barrier Reef 88 The most remarkable is the ‘toado’ or balloon fish.

1997 G. S. Helfman et al. Diversity of Fishes xix. 344/1 Balloonfish, in response to attacks by fishes or birds, increase their volume threefold by pumping water or air into their stomachs.

balloon flower n. Chinese bellflower, Platycodon grandiflorus, a perennial plant having large bell-shaped flowers which in bud resemble balloons; also called platycodon.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > bellflowers

bell-flower1578

bluebell1578

Canterbury bells1578

Coventry bells1578

Coventry Marians1578

Coventry rapes1578

fair-in-sight1578

gauntlet1578

haskwort1578

Marian's violet1578

throatwort1578

lady's looking glass1597

mariet1597

Mercury's violet1597

peach-bells1597

steeple bells1597

uvula-wort1597

Venus looking-glass1597

campanula1664

Spanish bell1664

corn-violet1665

rampion1688

Venus' glass1728

harebell1767

heath-bell1805

witch bell1808

slipperwort1813

meadow-bell1827

greygle1844

platycodon1844

lady's thimble1853

kikyo1884

witches' bells1884

balloon flower1901

fairy thimble1914

mountain bell1923

1901 G. Nicholson Dict. Gardening 607/2 (Cent. Dict. Suppl.) Platycodon. Chinese Balloon Flower.

1962 Amateur Gardening 31 Mar. 5/1 The platycodons are called balloon flowers because the buds before they open resemble a balloon.

1998 J. Cox Perennial All-stars 252/1 Balloon flower will repay you handsomely many times over for planting it.

balloon frame n. chiefly U.S. a light wooden framework fitted together to form the skeleton of a building, typically having the vertical timbers extending the full height of the frame; (also) a building made in this way.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun]

frame1440

mould1570

casea1676

needlework1686

framing1703

shell1705

casework1767

breast beam1828

balloon frame1844

fabric1849

balloon framing1855

armature1878

steel frame1898

1844 Commercial Herald (Milwaukie, Wisconsin Territory) 6 Oct. Permanency is everywhere exhibited..; the balloon frame that marked infancy [in our youthful city], now gives way to the stately brick edifice.

1853 J. W. Bond Minnesota & its Resources 122 A little clump of shanties and balloon-frames.

1873 E. Eggleston Myst. Metropolisville xxxv. 302 When at last he saw the familiar balloon-frame houses.

1927 Warren (Pa.) Tribune 13 Apr. 8/5 The feature of the balloon frame is that the wall studs extend up the full height, with the ends of the second floor joists spiked to their sides.

1945 Archit. Rev. 98 40/2 The great cities could never have arisen as quickly as they did if it were not for the invention of the balloon frame, which substituted a simple construction of nails and plates for the old craft of mortised and tenoned joints in wooden house construction.

1989 D. H. Fischer Albion's Seed 68 The framing of houses was revolutionized by a shift from hardwood posts and beams to a ‘balloon frame’ of light softwood studs and joists.

2007 New Haven (Connecticut) Reg. (Nexis) 31 Mar. The fire tore through the balloon-frame house's roof.

balloon framing n. a system of building using balloon frames; (also concrete) such a frame or building; = balloon frame n.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun]

frame1440

mould1570

casea1676

needlework1686

framing1703

shell1705

casework1767

breast beam1828

balloon frame1844

fabric1849

balloon framing1855

armature1878

steel frame1898

1855 Trans. Amer. Inst. N.-Y. 1854 394 in Docs. Assembly State N.-Y. (78th Session, Doc. No. 144) V The balloon framing used in the Western States and California.

1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 73/2 Balloon framing, a cheap and rapid method of construction in which all timbers are of light scantling, and are held together entirely by nails and spikes, only the corner posts being tenoned: used in place of braced framing.

1994 M. Brinkley Housebuilder's Bible (ed. 5) iv. 40/2 Instead of walls being built in situ as the house went up, they were hammered together in frames on the ground and then hoisted into place. It was called balloon framing because the houses went up so quickly.

balloon glass n. (a) Chemistry = sense 5 (now rare); (b) a large round stemmed drinking glass, esp. one used for brandy.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > containers for drink > drinking vessel > [noun] > glass

glassc888

verrea1382

Venice glass1527

rummer1625

bottle glass1626

Malaga glassa1627

flute1649

flute-glass1668

long glass1680

mum-glass1684

toasting glass1703

wine glass1709

tulip-glass1755

tun-glass1755

water glass1779

tumbler-glass1795

Madeira glass1801

tumbling glass1803

noggin glass1805

champagne glass1815

table glass1815

balloon glass1819

copita1841

firing glass1842

nobbler1842

thimble glass1843

wine1848

liqueur-glass1850

straw-stem1853

pokal1854

goblet1856

mousseline1862

pony glass1862

long-sleever1872

cocktail glass1873

champagne flute1882

yard-glass1882

sleever1896

tea-glass1898

liqueur1907

dock-glass1911

toast-master glass1916

Waterford1916

stem-glass1922

Pilsner glass1923

Amen glass1924

ballon1930

balloon goblet1931

thistle glass1935

snifter1937

balloon1951

shot-glass1955

handle1956

tulip1961

schooner1967

champagne fountain1973

1819 J. Dalton in Mem. Literary & Philos. Soc. Manch. 2nd Ser. 3 480 In January 1809, I made an experiment on the slow combustion of ether in a lamp, in a large balloon glass.

1860 J. Johnston Man. Chem. (ed. 6) iii. 231 A large balloon glass, A, is provided, containing a small quantity of water.

1926 Havre (Montana) Daily News-Promoter 21 May His Royal Highness drinking old brandy out of one of those large balloon glasses.

1940 A. Hocking Wicked Flee x. 233 Austen slowly turned his balloon glass of cognac between the palms of his hands.

1994 D. Healy Goat's Song (1995) 357 In his other hand he was holding by the stems three balloon glasses of brandy.

balloon goblet n. = balloon glass n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > containers for drink > drinking vessel > [noun] > glass

glassc888

verrea1382

Venice glass1527

rummer1625

bottle glass1626

Malaga glassa1627

flute1649

flute-glass1668

long glass1680

mum-glass1684

toasting glass1703

wine glass1709

tulip-glass1755

tun-glass1755

water glass1779

tumbler-glass1795

Madeira glass1801

tumbling glass1803

noggin glass1805

champagne glass1815

table glass1815

balloon glass1819

copita1841

firing glass1842

nobbler1842

thimble glass1843

wine1848

liqueur-glass1850

straw-stem1853

pokal1854

goblet1856

mousseline1862

pony glass1862

long-sleever1872

cocktail glass1873

champagne flute1882

yard-glass1882

sleever1896

tea-glass1898

liqueur1907

dock-glass1911

toast-master glass1916

Waterford1916

stem-glass1922

Pilsner glass1923

Amen glass1924

ballon1930

balloon goblet1931

thistle glass1935

snifter1937

balloon1951

shot-glass1955

handle1956

tulip1961

schooner1967

champagne fountain1973

1931 R. Aldington Colonel's Daughter iii. 166 A large balloon goblet of very thin glass with a shallow gold deposit of brandy still in it.

1968 Oakland (Calif.) Sunday Tribune 22 Sept. (Calif. Mag.) 4/2 Glassware is Pasco balloon goblet from Bavaria.

2006 Daily Tel. (Sydney) (Nexis) 5 July 54 The Special Reserve goes through..two years of oak-barrel maturation to produce a golden-coloured drop, which comes..in a warmed balloon goblet.

balloon head n. chiefly U.S. (a) a round, swollen, or large head or tip; (b) figurative (colloquial) an inflated opinion of oneself, a ‘big head’; an arrogant, conceited, or stupid person (cf. big-head n. 3, airhead n. 3).

ΚΠ

1890 N.Y. Times 14 Dec. 12/5 Thrust backward from the front [of the hat], a long gold stiletto with balloon head set with turquoises.

1896 Washington Post 12 Feb. 8/4 We had a smart Alec with the Browns named Lou Phelan... Phelan had a balloon head, and he prided himself on bluffing umpires.

1910 Indianapolis Star 1 May (Mag. section) Finding himself elevated suddenly to a position of such stupendous authority, had given him what Skibby would have called ‘de balloon head’.

1933 J. T. Farrell Gas-house McGinty 316 You balloon head, you got yours comin'!

1971 Playboy June 217 One more balloon-head movie star who meddled with directing.

2006 Philadelphia Inquirer (Nexis) 2 Apr. c1 [His] balloon head and bloated physique look like he stuck the air hose from the corner filling station down his throat.

balloon-headed adj. having a large or round head; (figurative) conceited; stupid; cf. balloon head n.

ΚΠ

1833 D. Porter Diary 9 Feb. in Constantinople & its Environs (1835) II. 113 A company of balloon-headed Armenians next passed.

1852 G. T. Landmann Adventures & Recoll. II. xii. 320 His dazzling silver, balloon-headed cane.

1937 J. Weidman I can get it for you Wholesale vi. 51 Listen, you balloon-headed schmuck.

2005 Derby Evening Tel. (Nexis) 6 Sept. (Features section) 2 The dictatorial verbosity of balloon-headed politicians.

balloon-letter n. a letter sent by balloon post.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > correspondence > letter > [noun] > letters, etc., by method of dispatch or conveyance

post-letter1648

ship-letterc1675

by-letter1685

penny-post letter1686

way letter1710

by-night1766

cross-letter1789

twopenny1818

box letter1827

non-paid1829

balloon-letter1870

pigeongram1875

railway letter1891

pneumatogram1894

airmail1918

aerogram1919

airgram1919

air letter1920

pneumatique1924

pneu1926

snail mail1929

aerogramme1934

airgraph1941

1870 L. Russell Let. 7 Nov. in B. Russell & P. Russell Amberley Papers (1937) II. xvi. 454 I have had three balloon letters quite lately [from her parents in Paris].

1870 Dubuque (Iowa) Daily Herald 20 Nov. A Paris balloon letter says Trochu shortly intends to force from the city 10,000 half-starved citizens for whom he can no longer provide.

2001 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 29 Sept. l11 Hot air balloons are famous in stamp collecting because many were used to carry mail out of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870-1871... A balloon letter to Ireland..usually sells for $1,000 to $1,200.

balloon payment n. Finance (originally and chiefly U.S.). a large payment due at the end of a loan period and coming after a series of considerably smaller, regular repayments.

ΚΠ

1930 Los Angeles Times 11 Nov. 3/3 (advt.) No balloon payments.

1989 E. Innes & L. Southwick-Trask Financial Post Turning it Around x. 220 The federal and provincial governments pitched in by allowing their debt of $20 million to be interest-free and amortized over ten years with a balloon payment at the end of five years.

2006 Mirror (Eire ed.) (Nexis) 15 Aug. 2 Consumers were warned to be aware of a balloon payment at the end of hire purchase agreements.

balloon post n. [compare German Ballonpost (1871 or earlier, originally with reference to the postal service operating out of Paris); mail sent by this service bore the French inscription Par ballon monté or Par le ballon (both 1870)] now historical a postal service that uses balloons; spec. the service which operated out of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > correspondence > postal services > [noun] > types of service > conveyance of mail by air

balloon post1870

airmail1911

1870 Food Jrnl. Nov. 539 By balloon post. Oct. 19.

1896 Atlantic Monthly June 798/2 Since all regular communication was cut off, we..could only pace the sombre London streets..; until letters by balloon-post from our beleaguered staff there [sc. in France] would relieve our minds.

1988 Amer. Hist. Rev. 93 718/2 Microfilming of messages (used in conjunction with pigeon and balloon post during the siege of Paris).

2003 Denver Post (Nexis) 23 Mar. l8 Chinese stamps, those from Russia's communist era and covers from the Balloon Post—mail delivered in..1870 by balloon out of Paris.

† balloon postman n. [after balloon post n.] Obsolete a man operating the balloon post.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > correspondence > postal services > person or vehicle that carries letters or mail > [noun] > person > by balloon

balloon postman1885

1885 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 581/2 The heroism displayed by French balloon postmen.

balloon satellite n. a balloon-shaped communications satellite.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > spacecraft > [noun] > satellite > used for specific purpose

biosatellite1957

balloon satellite1958

navigation satellite1960

weather satellite1960

1958 Van Wert (Ohio) Times-Bull. 23 Oct. 1/8 The army today called off a sky search for the mysteriously missing balloon satellite it launched here last night.

1985 Science 25 Oct. 425/1 PAGEOS, a U.S. balloon satellite, probably was struck by untracked debris and damaged in high orbit in July 1975.

2006 European Polymer Jrnl. 42 2703 The development of inflatable structures for space application began with the ‘Echo’, ‘Explorer’, ‘Big Shot’ and ‘Dash’ balloon satellites in the 1960s.

balloon shade n. chiefly North American a type of window blind made of fabric gathered with shirring, which may be drawn up to hang in a number of billowing festoons with rounded bottoms.

ΚΠ

1966 Better Homes & Gardens Nov. 82/2 ‘Balloon’ draperies are bouffant when pulled up—straight and tailored when down..and they function with pulley cords in much the same way as Roman shades.]

1960 Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press 9 June 8 (advt.) Balloon Shade Pole Lamp only $14.

1976 High Point (N. Carolina) Enterprise 1 Sept. 5 b At windows, bring in more softness with billowing balloon shades.

2001 Homestyle Apr. 40/2 I think the swoops on a balloon shade should be an uneven number.

balloon silk n. a type of long-staple Egyptian cotton used chiefly for making tents, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > cotton > [noun] > fine, light, or delicate

percaulah1614

chambray1787

balloon silk1843

Pima1925

1843 Gardener's Mag. 19 646 A more economical mode would be to have small balloons, say balls of balloon silk of a foot or 18 in. in diameter, which might be filled at the nearest gas-house.

1919 Outing Mar. 334/3 This sleeping pocket can be had in various sizes and weights. Take for example one of the balloon silk outfits.

1940 G. W. Martin Mod. Camping Guide v. 69 Terms used in connection with tent materials... Balloon Silk..a fine cloth made of Sea Island or Egyptian cotton. The term is misleading, as no silk is used in its manufacture.

2000 USA Today (Nexis) 23 June 10d An Imperial Toilet Tent—a two-holer that ties to a tree with a tent over it, in balloon silk or canvas.

balloon tyre n. a pneumatic tyre, esp. one of large cross-section inflated at relatively low pressure.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > wheel > rubber or pneumatic tyre

rubber1875

tyre1875

tirea1877

pneumatic1890

cushion1891

cushion-tire1891

pneu1891

solid tyre1891

balloon tyre1899

single-tube1904

tubular tyre1908

shoe1917

solid1919

tubular1924

air wheel1930

skin1954

tub1978

1899 North Adams (Mass.) Evening Transcript 4 Aug. 5/5 The tendency in Paris is towards solid tires. The big balloon tires seen in New York are almost unknown there. Solid rubber will undoubtedly constitute the automobile tire of the future.

1924 Science 7 Mar. Suppl. p. xii/2 Balloon tires are slightly more efficient in braking than those of ordinary size..because of their lower inflation pressure.

2000 N.Y. Times 6 Aug. v. 8/4 I climbed the dunes on a quad bike, which has four balloon tires and looks like a riding mower on steroids.

balloon-tyred adj. fitted with balloon tyres.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [adjective] > fitted with tyres > fitted with specific type of tyres

pneumatic-tyred1890

solid-tyred1891

pneumatic-shod1894

balloon-tyred1895

high profile1916

1895 Daily News 1 June 3/1 The Princess Maud..here mounted on a balloon-tired ‘safety’ [bicycle].

1926 Copeia No. 157. 159 This snake was crossing the pavement, at night..when struck by a balloon-tired car and stunned.

1999 W. Gibson All Tomorrow's Parties vii. 32 Her other favorite was a balloon-tired cruiser you rode along a beach.

balloon vine n. chiefly U.S. a tropical American vine, Cardiospermum halicacabum, which bears large balloon-like pods.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > climbing or creeping plants > [noun] > heart-pea

heart pea1597

Indian heart1597

winter cherry1597

heart-seed1759

balloon vine1835

1835 A. H. Lincoln Familiar Lect. Bot. (ed. 4) v. App. 84 Cardiospermum... Balloon vine. East Indies.

1865 C. Darwin in Jrnl. Linn. Soc. 9 88 The seed-capsules [of C. halicacabum], though light, are of enormous size (hence its English name of Balloon-vine).

1960 H. S. Zim Guide to Everglades 59 Balloon vine is named for its thin, swollen, seed capsules.

1992 Daily Herald (Chicago) 21 June viii. 5/2 Dainty-looking but easy to grow, the balloon vine is soon covered with delightful inflated seed pods.

balloon whisk n. Cookery a hand-held whisk consisting of several loops of wire forming a balloon-shaped bundle beneath a single handle.

ΚΠ

1961 Listener 17 Aug. 259/2 Some experts prefer a balloon whisk for egg whites and egg-and-sugar mixtures.

2004 Good Housek. (U.K. ed.) Oct. 219/2 The ingenious balloon whisk, which whips up amazingly light meringues, airy mousses and fluffy sponges.

C3. attributive.

a. Of or designating a method of training fruit trees in which the branches are curved from a height of about two metres down to the ground, forming the shape of a balloon. balloon trellis: a balloon-shaped trellis for training plants upon. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > cultivation of fruit > [noun] > method of training tree

chastisement1601

balloon1834

1834 Penny Cycl. II. 191/1 A mode of managing apple-trees called Balloon training.

1854 Amer. Farmer's New & Univ. Hand-bk. xi. 466 This is called the balloon manner of training, and was first applied to apple-trees.

1914 W. C. McCollom Vines & how to Grow Them 171 The vine is also an excellent subject for training over small supports such as balloon trellises, etc.

1951 Dict. Gardening (Royal Hort. Soc.) III. 1662/2 P[restonia] venosa makes a pretty plant trained on pillars or on a balloon trellis.

b. Designating a loan under the terms of which a balloon payment is required. Chiefly in balloon mortgage.

ΚΠ

1959 Jrnl. House of Representatives (Florida) 22 Apr. 244/1 A bill..providing for the designation of balloon mortgage.

1978 N.Y. Times 30 Mar. b3/3 A pattern of ‘balloon mortgages’, those in which the principal is deferred until the end.

1999 Sunday Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 22 Aug. 20 Both banks allow you to defer payment of up to 50% of the cost of the car until the end of the term... These type of deals are fittingly called balloon loans.

2005 Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat & Chron. (Nexis) 23 July (Home Real Estate section) 1f Some buyers have taken out interest-only loans or balloon mortgages in the hopes that they can sell their vacation home at a profit.

Derivatives

baˈlloonful n. as much as a balloon will hold.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > measurement > the scientific measurement of volume > measure(s) of capacity > amount defined by capacity > [noun] > amount that fills other specific things

sheetful?1530

streetful1595

rangeful1603

stringful1611

heavenful1637

hellful1637

skyful1645

gardenful1651

paperful1722

ropeful1726

notchful1733

breathful1815

cityful1826

forestful1832

worldful1835

treeful1837

spongeful1867

stackful1868

balloonful1870

fairful1872

socketful1872

valleyful1890

universeful1893

slingful1913

pawful1925

1870 Times 20 Oct. 9/5 Let Government despatch whole balloonfuls of fiery young orators into the Provinces,..full of words that stir the pulse.

1931 Syracuse (N. Y.) Herald 4 May 4/3 Stomach contractions of a healthy youth with a stomach containing only a balloonful of air.

2006 Evening Standard 14 June 42 Pasquale..sounds uncannily like a balloonful of helium being gradually let down.

baˈlloon-like adv. and adj. (a) adv. in the manner of a balloon; (b) adj. resembling or like a balloon; inflated, swollen, puffed-up.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > [adjective] > distending > swelling > swollen

bollen?c1225

bolghena1250

swollenc1325

rank?a1400

forbolned1413

puff1472

voustyc1480

knule?a1513

puffed1536

boldenc1540

tumorous1547

bladder-like1549

hoven1558

forswollen1565

uppuffed1573

bolled1578

engrossed1578

heaved1578

puffy1598

swelleda1616

bloughty1620

inflate1620

tympanous1625

tumid1626

tumoured1635

tumefied1651

bloated1664

pluff1673

inflated1744

balloon-like?1784

bladdery1785

ballooned1820

bepuffeda1849

utriculate1860

pobby1888

?1784 London Unmask'd vi. 138 I tell you, all your projects and your schemes will vanish, balloon like, in nubibus; and so let's dismiss this frothy subject.

1838 R. S. Surtees Jorrocks's Jaunts ii. 59 A gentleman in balloon-like leathers.

1861 A. Wynter Our Social Bees 120 The dominant balloon-like tumour.

1879 ‘G. Eliot’ Theophrastus Such iv. 96 His addled originalities..and balloon-like conclusions.

1989 J. Conway Road from Coorain (1990) i. 4 A miraculous silvery-grey plant which stores its own water in small balloonlike round leaves.

2002 Townsville (Queensland) Bull. (Nexis) 14 Dec. (Weekender section) 46 Thigh-high boots which inflate balloon-like every 30 seconds to reduce cellulite.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	balloon
释义	balloonn. Brit. /bəˈluːn/, U.S. /bəˈlun/ Forms: 1500s balonne, 1500s–1600s baloune, 1500s–1700s ballone, 1500s–1700s baloone, 1500s–1800s ballon, 1600s balloone, 1600s balloun, 1600s balloune, 1600s ballown, 1600s ballowne, 1600s baloun, 1600s–1700s balon, 1600s–1700s balone, 1600s– balloon, 1600s– baloon (now nonstandard). Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French ballon. Etymology: < Middle French, French ballon hollow spherical firework (1549), large inflated ball used in ball games (1557), game played with this ball (1580 or earlier), large globular glass vessel used in chemical experiments (1676 in the passage translated in quot. 1678 at sense 5, or earlier), hot-air balloon (1783; the use to denote a toy is apparently not paralleled in French until later (1877)), small bag of rubber or latex that is inflated inside a hollow organ (1898 in a medical context, with reference to such a bag inflated inside the uterus used to provoke the onset of labour), either < balle (see bale n.³) + -on -oon suffix, or < Italian (regional: Northern) †ballone large inflated ball used in ball games (although this is apparently first attested later: 1585; compare quot. 1598 at sense 1b; < balla (see bale n.³) + -one -oon suffix). Compare Spanish balón (third quarter of the 16th cent.); also Dutch ballon (1636), German Ballon (16th cent.), all originally in sense 1b.The usual Italian word is pallone (a1565 in sense ‘large inflated ball used in ball games’, 1595 denoting an empty, inflated, or hollow person (compare sense 4), beginning of the 17th cent. in sense ‘large globular glass vessel used in chemical experiments’, 1791 in sense ‘hot-air balloon’ (slightly earlier in the compound pallone aerostatico (1783); in this sense after French); < palla ball (see pall-mall n.) + -one -oon suffix). With sense 6 compare air balloon n. 2 and slightly later aerostat n. 1. With the balloon goes up at Phrases perhaps compare:1819 M. Y. Scott Balloon in Fatal Jest & Other Poems 136 ‘Huzza! Huzza! clear, clear the way! Run—the Balloon goes up today!’ See old and young, black, white and all Fill every passage to Vaux-hall! I. A ball or spherical object. 1. a. A game played with a large inflated ball of strong double leather, struck to and fro with the arm protected by a wooden bracer. Also attributive in balloon ball. In later use historical and regional. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > handball, etc. > [noun] > other handball games cache1444 hand in and hand out1478 cachepell1539 hand-out1540 knappan1573 wind-ball1578 balloon?1591 bord-and-cord1591 hurlingc1600 pize-balla1796 trigon1842 pallone1859 push-ball1895 throwball1895 punchball1908 wallyball1982 ?1591 T. Coningsby Jrnl. Siege Rouen (Harl. 288) 29 in Camden Misc. (1847) I The 19. and 20. we passed in making good cheare..ryding of horses, playing at ballone, and the lyke. 1603 T. North tr. Plutarch Lives (ed. 2) ii. 52 He would play at tennis, at the ballone..[Fr. au ieu de paume & de la bale; L. ad pilam primo folliculumque transiit]. 1605 G. Chapman et al. Eastward Hoe i. sig. B Wee had a match at Baloone.., with my Lord Whachum, for foure crownes. 1629 J. Ford Lover's Melancholy ii. i. sig. D2^v Where's your great Horse, your Hounds, your set at Tennis, Your Balloone ball, the practice of your dancing. a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Leic. 137 Being challenged by an Italian Gentleman to play at Baloun. 1726 F. Altieri Dizionario Italiano & Inglese Bracciale, a bracer to put on one's arm when one plays at balloon. 1791 J. Townsend Journey Spain II. 405 A company of young gentlemen, who amused themselves..with their favourite diversion of the balloon. 1801 J. Strutt Sports & Pastimes ii. iii. 76 The balloon-ball seems certainly to have originated from the hand-ball, and was..first played in England without the assistance of the bracer. 1820 W. Scott Monastery II. vii. 234 The winning party at that wondrous match at ballon. 1927 Times 18 June 17 [At the Cotswold games] cudgel-playing and backsword, wrestling,..playing at balloon or hand ball, leap-frog.., are among the country sports for which substantial prizes..are distributed. 1950 G. S. Dugdale Whitehall through Cents. 24 Tennis and balloon-ball were not the only games played at Whitehall on the Cockpit side. 1991 Hist. Today Oct. 27/1 Dutch artists show us the sports both of the well-to-do and the poor: games like ‘balloon’—a precursor of volley-ball, played by elegantly dressed young men in teams of two or three. †b. The ball used in this game; (also) any similar inflated ball hit or kicked for recreation or sport. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > handball, etc. > [noun] > other handball games > equipment fist-ball1585 balloon1598 balloon bracer1650 1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Ballone, a great ball, a ballone to play at with braces, a footeball. 1605 J. Sylvester tr. Ionas in tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. 520 One ship, that skips from starres to ground, From waue to waue (like Balloones wyndie bound). 1626 T. Hawkins tr. N. Caussin Holy Court I. ii. 234 Windblowne Balones..tossed this way and that way, sometyme with the foote, sometyme with the hand. 1696 B. Kennett Romæ Antiquæ Notitia ii. v. 244 The Ancients had four sorts of..Balls us'd for Exercise and Diversion. The Follis, or Balloon, which they struck about with their Arm, guarded for that purpose with a wooden Bracer: Or if the Balloon was little, they us'd only their Fists. 1709 S. Dunster tr. Horace Satires ii. ii. 135 Party at Quoits, or play with the Balloon; your Intenseness on the Diversion will render the Fatigue insensible to you. 1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod ii. iii. 88 The balloon or wind-ball resembled the follis of the Romans. 2. Architecture. A round ball or globe crowning a pillar, pier, etc. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > architectural ornament > [noun] > other ornaments pommela1300 crest1430 finial1448 balloon1592 brattishingc1593 knob1610 cartouche1611 ogive1611 fret1626 galace1663 acroterion1664 paternoster1728 semi-urn1742 patera1776 purfling1780 sailing course1807 vesica piscis (also piscium)1809 antefix1819 vesica1820 garland1823 stop1825 Aaron's rod1830 headwork1831 Vitruvian scroll1837 hip knob1838 stelea1840 ball-flower1840 notch-head1843 brandishing1846 buckle1848 cat's-head1848 bucrane1854 cresting1869 semi-ball1875 canephorus1880 crest-board1881 wave pattern1905 husk1934 foliate head1939 green man1939 1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 34 Al the space vnspoken of..did containe an elegant Cigrued Nymph. And vnder the Syme was another quarter wrought with Thors, Torques, Ballons and a Plinth [It. cum thori, torque, & Scotie, & Plintho]. 1656 T. Blount Glossographia Ballon,..the round Globe or top of a pillar. 1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. (at cited word) A balloon is to be proportioned to the magnitude, and altitude of the body. 1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. Gloss. 929 Balloon,..the same name is given to the balls on the top of cathedrals, as at..St. Paul's in London. 1999 J. S. Curl Dict. Archit. 50/2 Balloon... Large ball, balloon , globe, or sphere placed above a column or pier as a termination. †3. A hollow spherical firework designed to explode with a shower of bright sparks; = shell n. 21d. Also attributive in balloon-wheel. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > light > firework > [noun] > in form of ball that bursts balloon1629 air balloon1749 1629 F. Malthus tr. Treat. Artific. Fire-works 64 Although that ballouns are absolutely the most noble sort of fireworkes, yet for so much as all great fireworkes are composed rather of rockets, then of ballouns I thinke it conuenient, to begin the second treatise with these. 1634 J. Bate Myst. Nature & Art ii. 83 Into this Balloone you may put Rockets, Serpents, Starres, Fiends, Petards. 1753 Public Advertiser 24 Sept. Order of Firing..(2) Sky-rockets..(4) Two Air-Balloons..(13) Two Balloons..(19) A large Balloon Wheel which throws out of eight Boxes, Stars and Serpents. 1776 J. Cook 2nd Voy. round World 75 At night we played off sky-rockets, balloons and fountains of fire, to please the natives, at which they expressed great wonder and delight. 1853 G. Dodd in Househ. Words 10 Sept. 47/1 A Balloon..is a shell propelled from a mortar, and made to scatter squibs, crackers, serpents, and stars. 4. figurative. A person or thing regarded as inflated, empty, or hollow. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > insubstantial triflec1290 vainc1330 winda1382 vapour1382 gossamer?a1400 visevase1481 good morrow1542 cobweb1579 superficial1579 puff1583 bladder1589 blathery1591 froth1594 bag of winda1599 moth1600 nominala1625 tumour1630 windlestraw1637 vacuity1648 balloon1656 blank1678 breath bubble1835 nominality1842 fluff1906 cotton candy1931 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini Ragguagli di Parnasso ii. liv. 317 Vain-glory, with which some Princes of Europe have of late years swoln many French Ballowns [It. palloni Francesi]. 1792 J. Wolcot Pair Lyric Epist. to Ld. Macartney (new ed.) 2 No poltroons, Swell'd by the gas of courage to balloons. 1812 Ld. Byron Parenthet. Addr. Borne in the vast balloon of Busby's song. 1829 T. Carlyle German Playwrights in Foreign Rev. Jan. 98 The hollow balloon of popular applause. 1979 G. Durrell Picnic & Suchlike Pandemonium 155 A kitchen ruled over by a red balloon of a chef. 1993 Boulevard Spring 199 He..sucks one great puffcheeked mouthful of spirits,..then releases his fat balloon of face with a sneeze burst of spray. 5. Chemistry. A large globular glass vessel or flask with one or more necks. In later use frequently attributive in balloon flask. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > chemistry > equipment or apparatus > [noun] > general vessels > glass > others urinalc1300 recipient1558 matrass1591 tritory1660 balloon1678 proof-glass1765 air-bell1782 transfer-jar1827 ignition tube1874 beaker1877 bell-jar1877 flask1878 steam-bomb1895 Nessler tube1906 oxygen bottle1932 1678 tr. M. Charas Royal Pharmacopœa iii. xxv. 148 You may put on again and relute the little Globe, or Balon [Fr. Balon], and continue the Distillation with a very violent fire. 1682 G. Hartman Digby's Choice Coll. Rare Secrets i. 37 Put all the Liquor and Salt that cometh over, to digest and circulate a Month in fimo, in a great Ballon close shut. 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Ballon, in Chymistry, a French Word for a large round short-neck'd Matrass, or Vessel. 1784 J. Priestley in Philos. Trans. 1783 (Royal Soc.) 73 417 Interposing a large glass balloon between the retort and the recipient for the air. 1851 S. F. Baird tr. J. G. Heck Iconogr. Encycl. I. Chem. 31 We pour in enough of the liquid, the density of whose vapor is to be ascertained, for the volume of the vapor generated to exceed the volume of the balloon. 1899 Jrnl. Physical Chem. 3 196 The boiling-point readings..were taken after adding small amounts of acetone to water in a one liter balloon flask. 1918 Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci. 1916–17 28 140 The process used consists in heating a quantity of finely pulverized coffee in a balloon flask contained in an oil bath at about 175° to 200°. 1965 Technol. & Culture 6 572 The upper part of the glass balloon stands out of the furnace, and is kept relatively cool by the air. 2001 Stud. in Conservation 46 122/2 Oxidized oil sample was weighed precisely and introduced into a 50ml balloon flask with 7ml of 10:1 isopropanol/acetic acid..solution. II. An air balloon, and related senses. 6. A usually round or pear-shaped airtight bag or envelope (originally of paper or silk, now often of synthetic material) designed to rise into the air when inflated with hot air or a gas that is lighter than air, typically supporting beneath it a basket in which passengers are carried; a hot-air balloon.The first manned balloon flight took place in 1783, in the Montgolfier balloon (see Montgolfier n.). ΘΚΠ society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > balloons and airships > [noun] > balloon air balloon1783 balloon1783 aerostat1784 gas balloon1785 1783 European Mag. & London Rev. Oct. 272 Monsieur de Montgolfiers Air Balloon. 1783 (title) The air balloon: or a treatise on the aerostatic globe lately invented by Mons. Montgolfier. 1783 W. Cowper Let. 29 Sept. (1981) II. 165 What is your Opinion of these Air-balloons? I am quite charmed with the discovery. 1785 J. Priestley in Philos. Trans. 75 297 Filling balloons with the lightest inflammable air. 1807 W. Wordsworth Poems II. 74 The bravest Traveller in balloon, Mounting as if to reach the moon. 1831 D. Lardner Pneumatics vii. 339 The step from fire balloons to balloons filled with gas..was now easy and obvious. 1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits x. 164 Steam..already..is ruddering the balloon, and the next war will be fought in the air. 1885 N.E.D. at Balloon To large balloons a car strong enough to carry human beings can be attached, and hence they are used for observing atmospheric phenomena, for military reconnoitring, and, though with little success at present, as a means of travelling through the air. 1921 Times 19 Sept. 9/6 A large crowd gathered this afternoon to see the start of the balloon race for the Gordon-Bennett Cup. 1940 T. H. Harrisson & C. H. Madge War begins at Home v. 125 The [barrage] balloons, so suitably called blimps, became a major symbol in the first three months of the war. 1958 A. Marshack World in Space v. 76 The Japanese had discovered, in sending up weather balloons, that high winds..usually blew over the Pacific toward the United States. 1967 New Scientist 1 June 549/3 The balloon itself was constructed of fine polythene and helium-filled... It was soft-landed and recovered for further use. 2001 Geographical 73 98 When I pilot balloons abroad, I usually travel there first, rather than fly to these places by balloon. †7. = balloon-cap n. at Compounds 1b. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > cap > types of > other toque1505 biggin1511 button cap1527 undercap1531 biggin1558 fool's cap1577 apex1578 blue capa1586 wishing-cap1600 Wantage cap1609 infernal1610 porringer1623 montera1626 montera cap1652 school cap1736 wing cap1775 balloon1784 balloon-cap1785 spider-cap1790 poke-fly cap1810 strap-cap1820 mandarin cap1835 porringer-cap1839 chechia1853 turban1862 mitre1877 turban-cap1881 half-cap1893 pillbox cap1897 Queen Mary hat1928 snap-back1937 songkok1960 pakul1982 1784 E. Sheridan Let. in Betsy Sheridan's Jrnl. (1986) i. 26 Even silk Balloons are almost out—I have not seen a Cap since I came. 8. a. A small coloured bag, now usually of rubber or polythene, which is inflated with air or a light gas, sealed at the neck, and used as a child's toy or a decoration. Also (in collocation with burst, prick, puncture, etc.) as the type of collapsed enterprise, hope, enthusiasm, etc. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > ball or balloon > [noun] ball?c1225 wind-ball1578 toss-ball1681 air ball1756 balloon1800 poi1817 gum ball1855 air balloon1883 beach-ball1940 1800 Spirit Public Jrnls. 1799 3 283 The bursting of a paper balloon has caused as much affliction to a child, as the failure of a political enterprise to a statesman. 1858 Househ. Words 410 168/2 Amateurs were able to supply themselves with toy balloons made of goldbeaters' leaf, and bearing the name of Minimum. 1865 A. Megson Recoll. Lupset 7 Then come the balloons,..those aerial toys which ever and anon drop short in the sheep pasture. 1877 Punch 10 Nov. 210 And those lovely Balloons they give one, with ‘Louvre’ printed on them. 1902 J. M. Barrie Little White Bird xiii. 128 You speak to the lady with the balloons, who sits just outside [Kensington Gardens]... She sits very squat, for the balloons are always tugging at her. 1922 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald 23 36/5 His business, like a punctured balloon, slowly grew smaller and smaller. 1926 A. A. Milne Winnie-the-Pooh i. 10 It just happened that you had been to a party the day before.., and you had balloons at the party. 1937 N. Streatfeild Caroline England xii. 186 I'm blown up like a penny balloon. 1951 M. Kennedy Lucy Carmichael ii. i. 88 I get quite interested..for about 5 minutes and then—poof! I go flat like a burst balloon. 1977 New Yorker 10 Oct. 192/3 As a pricker of such balloons, he was without parallel. 1994 Prairie Fire Summer 228 He..takes the time to puncture the balloons of such born-again vitalists as Roger Penrose. 2006 New Yorker 6 Feb. 56/1 She'd received..some blue balloons and a chocolate-chip cake. b. Medicine. A small bag of rubber or latex that is inflated inside a hollow organ, typically to occlude or distend it; (in later use) spec. a balloon catheter. Cf. balloon catheter n., balloon angioplasty n. at Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > other surgical equipment > [noun] > tube or cannula > catheter cathering?1541 catheter1601 algalie1739 suspensor1747 balloon1911 balloon catheter1941 microballoon1964 1911 Lancet 29 Apr. 1119/1 Distension of the exposed intestine by a balloon, whilst its attachment was kept relaxed, at once caused a sensation of ‘wind’ to be felt below the umbilicus. 1947 Amer. Jrnl. Med. 3 424/1 The stomach is distended by inflating a rubber balloon attached to the lower end of the gastroscope. 1989 Atlantic Sept. 39/2 In angioplasty a tiny balloon would squeeze the lesions open. 2006 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 2 Apr. v. 3/4 Abbott will also acquire devices such as catheters, guide wires and ‘balloons’ used to unblock arteries before stents are placed. 9. a. A balloon-shaped outline in which the words or thoughts of a person, esp. a character in a cartoon or comic strip, are represented. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > drawing > [noun] > a drawing > comic or cartoon > balloon or bubble balloon1843 bubble1915 thinks balloon1959 think bubble1964 thinks bubble1981 think balloon2002 1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) xxxi. 376 Diabolical sentiments..were represented as issuing from his mouth in fat balloons. 1868 L. M. Alcott Little Women I. iv. 66 She drew a picture of Mr. Davis, with..the words ‘Young ladies, my eye is upon you!’ coming out of his mouth in a balloon thing. 1947 N. Marsh Final Curtain xii. 190 One almost expected some dubious caption to issue in a balloon from her lips. 1963 Listener 7 Feb. 252/2 The device found in comics where a balloon is shown coming out of a character's head with ‘thinks’ written over it. 1974 Afr. Stud. Rev. 17 335 This is a ‘photo-novelette’—a story told through photographs with ‘balloons’ of dialogue, accompanied by a running text. 2007 Wired May 131/1 ‘The idea of the dialog bubbles always bothered me’, he says... That's a major tip-off—a true comics fan knows those things are called speech balloons. b. A rounded outline, typically in a margin, containing notes or corrections to written or printed matter. ΘΚΠ society > communication > printing > printers' symbols and directions > [noun] > outline enclosing words for insertion balloon1935 1935 D. L. Sayers Gaudy Night iii. 45 I'm afraid it's rather full of marginal balloons and interlineations. 1956 F. Swinnerton Background with Chorus ii. xvii. 194 Balloons thereafter adorned the galley proofs. 1983 Notes & Queries Aug. 310/1 Nearly every leaf of this manuscript shows late additions in the form of interlineations and marginal balloons. 1999 C. H. Berman Cistercian Evolution (2000) 61 The earlier version..is thus a palimpsest, with its text..occasionally apparent beneath the considerable emendations, scrapings, replacements, marginal balloons, [etc.]. †10. Horticulture. Short for balloon trellis at Compounds 3a. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > equipment and buildings > [noun] > trellis or framework trailc1460 trellis1513 palisado1604 counter-espalier1658 palisade1658 pole hedge1658 treillage1698 trellis-work1712 espalier1736 trellis-frame1766 trainer1836 balloon1881 trellising1913 palm-stand1926 wigwam1961 1881 Gardeners' Chron. 16 336 Plants that have been trained on balloons twenty years ago, are treated in the same way still. 11. Sport. colloquial. a. A lofty hit or kick given to a cricket ball, baseball, or football. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > [noun] > manner of playing ball bata1400 back-swing1577 banding1589 stroke1662 stop1773 swipe1788 hit1810 straik1820 screwing1825 return1833 volleying1837 return stroke1838 volley1851 swiper1853 shot1868 handling1870 screw kick1870 mishit1882 smash1882 misfield1886 fumble1895 run-up1897 mishitting1900 balloon1904 carryback1905 placement1909 tonk1922 trick shot1924 retrieve1952 sizzler1960 undercut1960 shotmaking1969 1904 Daily Chron. 8 June 5/3 With his score at 45 Jackson was missed off a ‘balloon’ in the long field by Gooder. 1922 Daily Mail 8 Dec. 11 For the most part the ball was kicked anywhere—for choice high in the air. ‘There's no one up there,’ shouted an ironical spectator after one of many balloons. 2002 Re: Trek World Cup in alt.startrek (Usenet newsgroup) 2 June Kicking a balloon from the midfield which entered the goal over the goalkeeper without him noticing. b. Cricket. = duck n.¹ 7. rare. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > [noun] > running > no score by batsman spectacles1835 egg1861 nought1862 pair1862 duck's egg1863 round O1863 duck1868 blob1889 balloon1906 1906 A. E. Knight Compl. Cricketer App. II. 341 A batsman who has failed to score gets a ‘blob’, a ‘balloon’, a ‘duck’, or ‘duck's egg’. 12. Short for balloon glass n. at Compounds 2. Cf. ballon n.² 2. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > containers for drink > drinking vessel > [noun] > glass glassc888 verrea1382 Venice glass1527 rummer1625 bottle glass1626 Malaga glassa1627 flute1649 flute-glass1668 long glass1680 mum-glass1684 toasting glass1703 wine glass1709 tulip-glass1755 tun-glass1755 water glass1779 tumbler-glass1795 Madeira glass1801 tumbling glass1803 noggin glass1805 champagne glass1815 table glass1815 balloon glass1819 copita1841 firing glass1842 nobbler1842 thimble glass1843 wine1848 liqueur-glass1850 straw-stem1853 pokal1854 goblet1856 mousseline1862 pony glass1862 long-sleever1872 cocktail glass1873 champagne flute1882 yard-glass1882 sleever1896 tea-glass1898 liqueur1907 dock-glass1911 toast-master glass1916 Waterford1916 stem-glass1922 Pilsner glass1923 Amen glass1924 ballon1930 balloon goblet1931 thistle glass1935 snifter1937 balloon1951 shot-glass1955 handle1956 tulip1961 schooner1967 champagne fountain1973 the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > [noun] > specific quantity of dramc1590 leaguer1712 finger1820 glassful1841 four1869 nip1869 half1888 two1894 snifter1910 treble1968 balloon1973 triple1981 peg2003 1951 ‘J. Wyndham’ Day of Triffids v. 101 The plutocratic-looking balloon with the puddle of unpriceable brandy was mine. 1973 J. Mills October Men ii. 32 I..drank two glasses of Chartreuse and followed it with a kummel and a balloon of triple sec. 2005 R. Rankin Brightonomicon 187 His brandy swirled about in its balloon. 13. colloquial (Scottish and Irish English (northern)). A self-important or boastful idiot; a fool. Cf. loon n.¹ ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > foolish person, fool > [noun] dizzyc825 cang?c1225 foolc1225 apec1330 mopc1330 saddle-goosec1346 mis-feelinga1382 foltc1390 mopec1390 fona1400 buffardc1430 fopc1440 joppec1440 fonda1450 fondlinga1450 insipienta1513 plume of feathers1530 bobolynec1540 dizzard1546 Little Witham?1548 nodc1563 dawkin1565 cocknel1566 nigion1570 niddicock1577 nodcock1577 cuckoo1581 Jack with the feather1581 niddipol1582 noddyship?1589 stirkc1590 fonkin1591 Gibraltar1593 fopper1598 noddypeak1598 coxcombry1600 simple1600 gowka1605 nup1607 fooliaminy1608 silly ass1608 dosser-head1612 dor1616 glow-worm1624 liripipea1625 doodle1629 sop1637 spalt1639 fool's head1650 buffle1655 Jack Adams1656 bufflehead1659 nincompoopc1668 bavian1678 nokes1679 foolanea1681 cod1699 hulver-head1699 nigmenog1699 single ten1699 mud1703 dowf1722 foolatum1740 silly billy1749 tommy noddy1774 arsec1785 nincom1800 silly1807 slob1810 omadhaun1818 potwalloper1820 mosy1824 amadan1825 gump1825 gype1825 oonchook1825 prawn1845 suck-egg1851 goosey1852 nowmun1854 pelican1856 poppy-show1860 buggerlugs1861 damfool1881 mudhead1882 yob1886 peanut head1891 haggis bag1892 poop1893 gazob1906 mush1906 wump1908 zob1911 gorm1912 goof1916 goofus1916 gubbins1916 dumb cluck1922 twat1922 B.F.1925 goofer1925 bird brain1926 berk1929 Berkeley1929 Berkeley Hunt1929 ding1929 loogan1929 stupido1929 poop-stick1930 nelly1931 droop1932 diddy1933 slappy1937 goof ball1938 get1940 poon1940 tonk1941 clot1942 yuck1943 possum1945 gobdaw1947 momo1953 nig-nog1953 plonker1955 weenie1956 nong-nong1959 Berkshire Hunt1960 balloon1965 doofus1965 dork1965 nana1965 shit-for-brains1966 schmoll1967 tosspot1967 lunchbox1969 doof1971 tonto1973 dorkus1979 motorhead1979 mouth-breather1979 wally1980 wally brain1981 der-brain1983 langer1983 numpty1985 sotong1988 fanny1995 fannybaws2000 1965 A. Sharp Green Tree in Gedde ix. 118 ‘Pray summarize.’ Now only a balloon would say something like ‘pray summarize’, Moseby thought. 1977 W. McIlvanney Laidlaw xxi. 87 Mason sat over his desk, staring at it. ‘Surrounded with balloons,’ he said, fogging the glass top. ‘What am I?’ 1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. 14/2 Balloon, a person who is ‘full of hot air’, a foolish, talkative person. 2002 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 12 Sept. 20 Foul-mouthed badinage ensued, culminating in our man shouting: ‘It's simple, ya balloon! Roads for cars! Pavements, pedestrians!’ 14. Finance (originally and chiefly U.S.). Short for balloon payment n. at Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > payment > [noun] > repayment again-gift1340 repayment1421 recompense1439 refoundiment1555 paying back1598 refaction1640 refundment1665 refund1711 recouperation1865 recoup1904 balloon1972 1972 Real Estate Rev. Winter 44/2 A transaction involving depreciable property calling for a 5 percent down payment, normal interest payments, and principal payments of one percent a year for 20 years with a 75 percent balloon payment at the end will remain thin until the balloon is paid. 1994 Amer. Spectator Oct. 32/1 A second trust was taken out..for $83,500 at 8.5 percent. with a balloon making the entire balance due on June 1, 2001. Phrases the balloon goes up and variants: the action, excitement, or trouble starts.Perhaps originally with allusion to the release of a balloon to mark the start of an event. ΚΠ 1909 Putnam's Mag. 5 595/2 ‘You tell Alfonso..that one more break like that will give him a good swift start for Spain.’..‘In brief, Alfonso, cut out the musical extras or your balloon goes up.’ 1924 P. MacDonald Rasp xv. 210 ‘When's the magistrate's court?’.. ‘The balloon, I believe, goes up at 10 a.m.’ 1932 P. G. Wodehouse Hot Water xiii. 222 This was the moment when he must put his fortune to the test, to win or lose it all. Now or never must the balloon go up. 1943 H. Bolitho Combat Rep. xxx. 79 Suddenly the balloon went up. There were 110's and 87's all around us, and the 87's started dive-bombing a jetty. 1959 Punch 21 Oct. 322/1 The international rules of war [are] apt to be waived when the balloon goes up. 1989 R. Rohmer Red Arctic x. 74 Those are the boats they want to get down into the Atlantic Ocean in the event the balloon goes up. 1993 S. McAughtry Touch & Go xiii. 99 You know and I know why we're really here, it's to protect what we have when the balloon goes up. 2004 R. Scott in Slightly Foxed Spring 79 When he tells her he wants a divorce, the balloon goes up. Compounds C1. a. Objective (with verbal noun or agent noun), and instrumental, chiefly in sense 6. balloon-borne adj. ΚΠ 1867 Times 8 Oct. 7/3 The balloon-borne man above. 1937 Sci. Monthly Sept. 284 The bureau hopes to substitute these balloon-borne radiometeorographs for aerometeorographs attached to airplanes. 2001 A. Wolfendale in R. Catlow & S. Greenfield Cosmic Rays 1 It was natural that balloon-borne equipment should be pressed into service. balloon corps n. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > group or unit on operation > [noun] > balloonists flying squadron1785 balloon corps1859 balloon squadron1880 1859 Harper's Mag. Sept. 562/1 In 1794 the French organized a balloon corps to ascend and observe the distribution of the enemy. 1924 Times 4 Jan. 12/5 In 1884..a balloon corps with three balloons went out with Sir Charles Warren's Bechuanaland Expedition. 2006 Booklist (Nexis) 15 Dec. 15 [Thaddeus] Lowe is best known for organizing the Civil War Army of the Potomac's Balloon Corps, though it was disbanded because of..bureaucratic infighting, and, to some extent, the technological immaturity of balloons. balloon driver n. ΘΚΠ society > travel > air or space travel > people who fly in aircraft or spacecraft > [noun] > balloonist ballooner1783 aeronaut1784 airgonaut1784 balloonist1784 aerostat1788 air-balloonist1791 voyager1826 air sailor1834 balloon driver1838 balloonatic1854 hot-air balloonist1887 1838 Let. in H. Turner Astra Castra 403 That..safest balloon-driver in the world..Mr. Green. 1910 Washington Post 12 July 3/2 Lincoln Beachy, the professional dirigible balloon driver. 2006 Essex Chron. (Nexis) 25 Oct. 16 Of course, Mum. One day I am going to be a famous balloon driver and I will take you wherever you want to go. balloon flying n. ΘΚΠ society > travel > air or space travel > ballooning > [noun] airgonation1784 balloonation1784 ballooning1784 balloonery1785 balloonism1785 balloon flying1802 balloon navigation1816 aeronautism1847 hot-air ballooning1891 1802 Universal Mag. Nov. 334/2 It might be shown, by a survey of all the departments of life, that nothing is so universal as balloons, and projects of balloon-flying. 1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. iii. viii. 149 A Golden or Paper Age of Hope; with its horse-racings, balloon-flyings, etc. 1937 Times 8 Oct. 14/5 The balloon flying will take place in connexion with a peace-time exercise of the squadrons. 2006 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Jrnl. (Nexis) 24 Sept. 16 The love I have for the sport of balloon flying is something you can't write down. balloon navigation n. ΘΚΠ society > travel > air or space travel > ballooning > [noun] airgonation1784 balloonation1784 ballooning1784 balloonery1785 balloonism1785 balloon flying1802 balloon navigation1816 aeronautism1847 hot-air ballooning1891 1816 G. Cayley in Philos. Mag. 47 328 Balloon navigation does hold out the capabilities I have so daringly ventured to investigate. 1862 Times 3 Oct. 5/1 A paper concerning some suggestions on balloon navigation. 2002 Patriot Ledger (Quincy, Mass.) (Nexis) 6 Aug. 15 Balloon navigation hasn't improved much [since the 18th cent.]... ‘You can't steer a balloon... You don't know where you're going to land or how long it's going to last.’ balloon shed n. ΘΚΠ society > travel > air or space travel > airfield or airport > [noun] > hangar > for balloon or airship balloon shed1895 harbour1909 1895 Times 30 July 4/1 Herr Andrée proposes early next summer to leave Europe for a point within the Arctic circle, where he will erect a balloon shed. Here he will fill his balloon. 1907 Westm. Gaz. 11 Sept. 8/3 The great doors of the balloon-shed were slowly opened. 2003 Canberra Times (Nexis) 12 Oct. a3 My dawn balloon flight over the desert and ranges..was cancelled... I had to settle for a visit to the balloon shed. balloon squadron n. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > group or unit on operation > [noun] > balloonists flying squadron1785 balloon corps1859 balloon squadron1880 1880 P. Greg Across Zodiac I. xiii. 293 One battalion of Martial guards or police..might, even without the aid of a balloon-squadron,..annihilate..the mightiest and bravest army that Europe could send forth. 1940 Ann. Reg. 1939 23 The balloon squadrons in London were now practically up to establishment. 2007 South Wales Echo (Nexis) 6 Mar. 20 They were a familiar part of our skies for three years until the balloon squadrons were disbanded in 1943. b. Similative. balloon-cap n. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > cap > types of > other toque1505 biggin1511 button cap1527 undercap1531 biggin1558 fool's cap1577 apex1578 blue capa1586 wishing-cap1600 Wantage cap1609 infernal1610 porringer1623 montera1626 montera cap1652 school cap1736 wing cap1775 balloon1784 balloon-cap1785 spider-cap1790 poke-fly cap1810 strap-cap1820 mandarin cap1835 porringer-cap1839 chechia1853 turban1862 mitre1877 turban-cap1881 half-cap1893 pillbox cap1897 Queen Mary hat1928 snap-back1937 songkok1960 pakul1982 1785 E. Blower Maria II. ix. 110 I think my balloon cap does not sit quite the thing to-day;—it is the first cap I have had made in the modern taste for twenty years. 1837 A. M. Hall Uncle Horace III. i. 11 There was a portrait of the dame herself, in a balloon cap, with a rose-bud sticking jauntily in her powdered hair. 1938 Burlington Mag. Aug. 56/2 It [sc. the turban] was followed by the big Egyptian balloon-cap. balloon foresail n. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > sail > [noun] > spinnaker or balloon sail ballooner1863 balloon foresail1864 spinnaker1866 balloon sail1872 1864 Times 7 Sept. 9 The Torpid carried her whole mainsail, with a balloon foresail. 1883 Times 27 Aug. 8/2 With balloon foresails and flying jibs. 1935 Times 13 June 4/7 Each barge has to carry not more than seven sails: mainsail, topsail, foresail, mizzen, jib, spinnaker, and squaresail or balloon foresail. balloon hat n. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > hat > other cap (also hat) of maintenancec1475 hat1483 wishing-hat1600 cockle hat1603 porringer1623 poke1632 custard-cap1649 bonnet1675 muff-box1678 Caroline1687 Quaker1778 meat safe1782 balloon hat1784 gypsy hat1785 cabriolet1797 gypsy bonnet1803 Gypsy1806 Wellington hat1809 fan-tail-hat1810 umbrella hat1817 radical1828 caubeen1831 topi1835 montera1838 Petersham1845 squash hat1860 Moab1864 kiddy1865 flap-hat1866 Dolly Varden1872 brush-hata1877 potae1881 Pope's-hat1886 plateau1890 kelly1915 push-back1920 kiss-me-quick hat1963 pakul1982 tinfoil hat1982 1784 New Spectator No. 3. 4/2 Balloon hats now adorn the heads of..the parading impures. 1803 Lett. Miss Riversdale III. 202 She kept..running her balloon hat into every eye. 1972 Times 28 Oct. 8 [In 1784] balloon fever was at its height... Milliners were selling ‘balloon hats’, jewellers ‘balloon earrings’. 2001 D. Stevenson Beggar's Benison vii. 162 The balloonist never returned to Fife... But a fashion for balloon hats among ladies commemorated his exploits for a few years. balloon sail n. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > sail > [noun] > spinnaker or balloon sail ballooner1863 balloon foresail1864 spinnaker1866 balloon sail1872 1872 N.Y. Herald 13 Sept. 7/5 The wind had lightened up considerably, and was now not fresher than a regular balloon sail breeze. 1888 Times 12 July 10/3 A question was referred..as to the yacht Marguerite,..carrying a balloon sail in a race in which balloon canvas was prohibited. 1948 R. de Kerchove Internat. Maritime Dict. 34/2 Balloon sail, a general term used for light racing and cruising sails found on yachts, such as balloon jib, balloon topsail and foresail. 2000 Detroit Free Press (Nexis) 1 Feb. The wind on the sails overcame the rudder's steering power... A vertical rip appeared in the nylon cloth near the top of Cayard's big balloon sail. balloon sleeve n. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > covering spec parts of body > arm > types of poke1402 foresleeve1538 long sleeve1538 lumbard1542 puller out1543 maunch1550 hand sleeve1585 French sleeve1592 poke sleeve1592 puff1601 trunk sleeve1603 stock-sleeve1611 hoop-sleeve1614 puff sleevec1632 short sleeve1639 hanging sleeve1659 engageants1690 jockey-sleeve1692 pudding-sleeve1704 Amadis1814 gigot1824 leg of mutton1824 bishop sleeve1829 mutton-leg sleeve1830 balloon sleeve1837 gigot-sleeve1837 bag-sleeve1844 pagoda sleeve1850 mameluke sleeve1853 angel sleeve1859 elbow-sleeve1875 sling-sleeve1888 sleevelet1889 pagoda1890 bell-sleeve1892 kimono sleeve1919–20 dolman1934 1837 Southern Literary Messenger 3 3 Women come to the spring for water in great balloon sleeves and prunella shoes. 1858 ‘G. Eliot’ Amos Barton iii, in Scenes Clerical Life I. 58 Very stiff balloon sleeves..without which a woman's dress was nought in those days. 1981 Times 29 Dec. 7/4 A Westwood, USA, balloon-sleeve cardigan at £19.95. 2006 Birmingham Post 1 Nov. 2 This balloon sleeve jacket is one of the most inventive ways of using the pattern. c. Parasynthetic. balloon-shaped adj. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > [adjective] > spherical or globular roundc1300 orbicular?1440 spherical1523 spheral1571 globous1591 globy1595 bulbed1597 orbed1598 sphery1600 spheric1610 globical1612 rotundious1614 globular1626 globed1633 global1637 globose1667 spheriform1678 globosous1681 globar1699 bulbous1783 ball-shaped1802 globate1806 perispheric1828 bulb-like1836 balloon-shaped1839 bulbiform1849 globuloid1889 1839 Chinese Repository 8 42 Pepa, the balloon shaped guitar. 1936 T. Rohan Confessions of Dealer (ed. 4) 8 A large 18th century English balloon-shaped bracket clock. 2002 New Yorker 14 Oct. 94 (advt.) Delivers radiation seeds to an eligible patient's tumor site via a balloon-shaped catheter. C2. balloon angioplasty n. Surgery the widening of a blocked or narrowed blood vessel, esp. an artery, by means of a balloon catheter; an operation to perform this. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > surgery > fixation and repair operations > [noun] > repair > of specific parts rhinoplastic1823 rhinoplasty1828 cheiloplasty1842 uranoplasty1844 staphyloplasty1846 uranoplastic1850 genyplasty1857 stomatoplasty1860 palatoplasty1873 posthioplasty1874 perineoplasty1875 vaginoplasty1877 myringoplasty1879 thoracoplasty1890 tracheloplasty1890 labioplasty1896 utriculoplasty1910 angioplasty1912 pyeloplasty1913 mammaplasty1938 valvuloplasty1948 tympanoplasty1955 tuboplasty1961 balloon angioplasty1980 blepharoplasty- 1980 Cardiovascular & Interventional Radiol. 3 197 Percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA) has been employed in 70 renal arteries utilizing the balloon angioplasty technique described by Grüntzig for peripheral vessels. 2000 Time 27 Mar. 105/3 Half a million patients each year have their clogged arteries Roto-Rootered with balloon angioplasty. 2001 Daily Tel. 7 Mar. 16/3 A balloon angioplasty is a simple operation, usually lasting little more than an hour. balloon apron n. now historical a defence against hostile aircraft consisting of a connected system of balloons carrying wire cables reaching to the ground; = balloon barrage n. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > aircraft weapons or equipment > [noun] > set of captive balloons apron1917 balloon apron1917 balloon barrage1919 1917 in H. A. Jones War in Air (1935) V. i. 68 On the 22nd of September [1917], in orders issued to home defence pilots, it was stated: ‘Balloon Aprons and other obstructions will be established.’ 1925 J. Morris Ger. Air Raids on Great Brit. ii. iv. 253 The balloon apron..consisted of steel cables suspended from a line held in the air by means of captive balloons. 1929 E. B. Ashmore Air Def. v. 55 I produced my idea for a balloon apron barrage to be put up just outside London and inside the aeroplane patrol lines. 1934 Times 5 June 11/2 The magazine..is defended by anti-aircraft guns and a balloon apron. 1999 L. Brown Radar Hist. World War II i. iii. 12 The attacks on London were stopped by mid-1918 but at a cost of deploying 376 airplanes, 469 AA guns, 622 searchlights, 258 height finders, ten sound locators and a balloon apron. balloon back n. a rounded chair back which tapers to the seat to form a balloon shape, a design popular during the Victorian age; (also) a chair with such a back; chiefly attributive, as balloon-back chair, etc.; cf. hoop-back n. at hoop n.¹ Compounds 2. ΚΠ 1866 Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 20 Apr. (advt.) Balloon back drawing room chairs. 1937 J. N. Loring Anat. Eng. Chair Types iii. 11 The uprights of the back now exhibit a double curve, curving outwards near the middle but inwards near the top, a shaping which gives a slight waist to the back. Two main types are recognisable: (A), those with hooped crestings (Balloon backs), and (B), those with serpentine crestings (Camel backs). 1961 Connoisseur New Guide Antique Eng. Furn. 118 The balloon-back chair. In 1830 this was entirely unknown; by 1860 it had become by far the commonest type both for dining and drawing-rooms. 2004 Vancouver Sun (Nexis) 23 Apr. h3 Your chair design is a late, turned-leg version of the balloon back. balloon barrage n. = balloon apron n. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > aircraft weapons or equipment > [noun] > set of captive balloons apron1917 balloon apron1917 balloon barrage1919 1919 R. H. Reece Night Bombing with Bedouins iii. 45 Small blue crosses represent the position of enemy balloon barrages and their height. 1937 Flight 16 Dec. 609/2 A balloon barrage, as part of the air defences of London, is almost an accomplished fact. 2004 Herald Express (Torquay) (Nexis) 27 May 49 The terror raids that began in the winter of 1940 on a city that believed a balloon barrage and anti-aircraft guns would protect it from the Luftwaffe. balloon bomb n. Military (chiefly U.S.) (a) a bomb dropped from a hot-air balloon (obsolete. rare); (b) a weapon consisting of a large balloon from which an explosive or incendiary device is suspended, dropping when the balloon is burst (now historical). ΚΠ 1893 Daily Advocate (Newark, Ohio) 14 Nov. 1/3 (heading) Balloon bombs... Peixoto has now nearly ready his balloon..from which he expects to be able to drop a charge of dynamite upon Admiral Mello's flagship. 1939 San Mateo (Calif.) Times 24 Mar. 8/7 (heading) Balloon bomb defense... A timing device would burst the balloons and scatter the bombs over a wide area. 1996 Boston Globe (Nexis) 8 Dec. a1 Some balloon bombs were shot down by the US military. balloon bracer n. [ < balloon n. + bracer n.²; compare French brassard brassard n. (1680 denoting a balloon bracer)] now historical the bracer of wood worn by a balloon player to protect the arm (cf. sense 1a). ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > handball, etc. > [noun] > other handball games > equipment fist-ball1585 balloon1598 balloon bracer1650 1650 A. Weldon Court & Char. King James 152 Lifting up his hand over his head with a Ballon brasser. 1947 K. Hare Gloucestershire xv. 196 There was ‘balloon’, a sort of mixed foot and handball... The game was played between rival teams... Hands were protected by guards called ‘balloon-brassers’. balloon catheter n. Surgery a catheter having a balloon or short inflatable section at or near its tip, which is introduced into a blood vessel or other tubular structure and then inflated to occlude or distend the structure or clear an obstruction. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > other surgical equipment > [noun] > tube or cannula > catheter cathering?1541 catheter1601 algalie1739 suspensor1747 balloon1911 balloon catheter1941 microballoon1964 1941 Amer. Jrnl. Orthodontics & Oral Surg. 27 A709 A balloon catheter is introduced by direct vision through the larynx. When the balloon is inflated just below the larynx, all possibility that blood and secretion will pass down the trachea is prevented. 1963 Amer. Jrnl. Roentgenol. 90 650/2 Tourniquets, balloon catheters and gravity have been employed to achieve the desired distribution of injected contrast agents. 2002 T. J. Myers & O. H. Frazier in S. Wilansky & J. T. Willerson Heart Dis. in Women xvi. 299 The IABP [= intra-aortic balloon pump] balloon catheter is normally inserted percutaneously via the femoral artery or through a sternotomy incision and is then positioned within the descending thoracic aorta. balloon cloth n. any strong, light, impermeable cloth used for making the bags of hot-air balloons. ΘΚΠ society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > balloons and airships > [noun] > gas or air container of balloon or airship > cloth balloon cloth1849 balloon fabric1881 the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric with specific qualities > [noun] > thin, light, or delicate > for other uses balloon cloth1849 scrim1880 balloon fabric1881 window scrim1887 1849 Sci. Amer. 21 July 349/3 The construction of the steam balloon may not require more than 3 months, provided that such a material can be obtained for the Balloon Cloth. 1873 Times 4 Oct. 6/5 A knot of gentlemen were tearing strips from a piece of the balloon cloth they had somehow obtained, as easily as if it were paper. 1912 C. B. Hayward Pract. Aeronautics i. iii. 14 Three layers of this rubberized fabric are cemented together to form what is known as ‘balloon cloth’, which is about as impermeable a material as can be made without involving undue weight. 1917 Illustr. London News 17 Nov. 601/2 I walked inside the envelope [of a Zeppelin]... On the way I passed a tube of balloon cloth. 1945 Times 20 July 10/1 The processes we have been called upon to undertake..include such materials as balloon cloth, parachute fabrics, anti-gas clothing, [etc.]. 2004 Canberra Times (Nexis) 28 Mar. The balloon is made from more than 1000 pieces of balloon cloth. balloon fabric n. fabric used for making the bags of hot-air balloons; = balloon cloth n.; a type of this. ΘΚΠ society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > balloons and airships > [noun] > gas or air container of balloon or airship > cloth balloon cloth1849 balloon fabric1881 the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric with specific qualities > [noun] > thin, light, or delicate > for other uses balloon cloth1849 scrim1880 balloon fabric1881 window scrim1887 1881 19th Cent. Jan. 108 We cannot avoid a serious loss [of hydrogen] by leakage, though our light balloon fabric does retain it much better than might fairly be expected. 1919 Type ‘M’ Kite Balloon Handbk. (U.S. Navy Dept.) iv. 37 All cloth used for balloon fabric..is inspected for flaws... The raw cloth is then coated with rubber. 1998 Textile Horizons June 16/1 The material has good violet resistance, high tear strength and good weather protection—just what you would expect from a balloon fabric. balloonfish n. any of various puffer fishes (families Tetraodontidae and Diodontidae). ΘΚΠ the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > order Tetraodontiformes (puffers) > [noun] > family Diodontidae (porcupine-fishes) > member of toad-fish1612 globe fish1668 sculpin1672 sea-hedgehog1711 sea-orb1774 puff-fish1807 puffer1814 balloonfish1834 swell-fish1839 tambour1854 swallow1876 blaasop1947 1834 E. Griffith et al. Cuvier's Animal Kingdom X. 579 From the faculty they [sc. the Diodontes] possess of distending their bodies with air, these fishes have received the vulgar name of..balloon-fish. 1867 Harper's Mag. Mar. 476/2 Billy and I were flattening our noses against the abode of the balloon-fish, and determining whether he looked most like a horse-chestnut burr or a ripe cucumber. 1930 C. M. Yonge Year on Great Barrier Reef 88 The most remarkable is the ‘toado’ or balloon fish. 1997 G. S. Helfman et al. Diversity of Fishes xix. 344/1 Balloonfish, in response to attacks by fishes or birds, increase their volume threefold by pumping water or air into their stomachs. balloon flower n. Chinese bellflower, Platycodon grandiflorus, a perennial plant having large bell-shaped flowers which in bud resemble balloons; also called platycodon. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > bellflowers bell-flower1578 bluebell1578 Canterbury bells1578 Coventry bells1578 Coventry Marians1578 Coventry rapes1578 fair-in-sight1578 gauntlet1578 haskwort1578 Marian's violet1578 throatwort1578 lady's looking glass1597 mariet1597 Mercury's violet1597 peach-bells1597 steeple bells1597 uvula-wort1597 Venus looking-glass1597 campanula1664 Spanish bell1664 corn-violet1665 rampion1688 Venus' glass1728 harebell1767 heath-bell1805 witch bell1808 slipperwort1813 meadow-bell1827 greygle1844 platycodon1844 lady's thimble1853 kikyo1884 witches' bells1884 balloon flower1901 fairy thimble1914 mountain bell1923 1901 G. Nicholson Dict. Gardening 607/2 (Cent. Dict. Suppl.) Platycodon. Chinese Balloon Flower. 1962 Amateur Gardening 31 Mar. 5/1 The platycodons are called balloon flowers because the buds before they open resemble a balloon. 1998 J. Cox Perennial All-stars 252/1 Balloon flower will repay you handsomely many times over for planting it. balloon frame n. chiefly U.S. a light wooden framework fitted together to form the skeleton of a building, typically having the vertical timbers extending the full height of the frame; (also) a building made in this way. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun] frame1440 mould1570 casea1676 needlework1686 framing1703 shell1705 casework1767 breast beam1828 balloon frame1844 fabric1849 balloon framing1855 armature1878 steel frame1898 1844 Commercial Herald (Milwaukie, Wisconsin Territory) 6 Oct. Permanency is everywhere exhibited..; the balloon frame that marked infancy [in our youthful city], now gives way to the stately brick edifice. 1853 J. W. Bond Minnesota & its Resources 122 A little clump of shanties and balloon-frames. 1873 E. Eggleston Myst. Metropolisville xxxv. 302 When at last he saw the familiar balloon-frame houses. 1927 Warren (Pa.) Tribune 13 Apr. 8/5 The feature of the balloon frame is that the wall studs extend up the full height, with the ends of the second floor joists spiked to their sides. 1945 Archit. Rev. 98 40/2 The great cities could never have arisen as quickly as they did if it were not for the invention of the balloon frame, which substituted a simple construction of nails and plates for the old craft of mortised and tenoned joints in wooden house construction. 1989 D. H. Fischer Albion's Seed 68 The framing of houses was revolutionized by a shift from hardwood posts and beams to a ‘balloon frame’ of light softwood studs and joists. 2007 New Haven (Connecticut) Reg. (Nexis) 31 Mar. The fire tore through the balloon-frame house's roof. balloon framing n. a system of building using balloon frames; (also concrete) such a frame or building; = balloon frame n. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun] frame1440 mould1570 casea1676 needlework1686 framing1703 shell1705 casework1767 breast beam1828 balloon frame1844 fabric1849 balloon framing1855 armature1878 steel frame1898 1855 Trans. Amer. Inst. N.-Y. 1854 394 in Docs. Assembly State N.-Y. (78th Session, Doc. No. 144) V The balloon framing used in the Western States and California. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 73/2 Balloon framing, a cheap and rapid method of construction in which all timbers are of light scantling, and are held together entirely by nails and spikes, only the corner posts being tenoned: used in place of braced framing. 1994 M. Brinkley Housebuilder's Bible (ed. 5) iv. 40/2 Instead of walls being built in situ as the house went up, they were hammered together in frames on the ground and then hoisted into place. It was called balloon framing because the houses went up so quickly. balloon glass n. (a) Chemistry = sense 5 (now rare); (b) a large round stemmed drinking glass, esp. one used for brandy. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > containers for drink > drinking vessel > [noun] > glass glassc888 verrea1382 Venice glass1527 rummer1625 bottle glass1626 Malaga glassa1627 flute1649 flute-glass1668 long glass1680 mum-glass1684 toasting glass1703 wine glass1709 tulip-glass1755 tun-glass1755 water glass1779 tumbler-glass1795 Madeira glass1801 tumbling glass1803 noggin glass1805 champagne glass1815 table glass1815 balloon glass1819 copita1841 firing glass1842 nobbler1842 thimble glass1843 wine1848 liqueur-glass1850 straw-stem1853 pokal1854 goblet1856 mousseline1862 pony glass1862 long-sleever1872 cocktail glass1873 champagne flute1882 yard-glass1882 sleever1896 tea-glass1898 liqueur1907 dock-glass1911 toast-master glass1916 Waterford1916 stem-glass1922 Pilsner glass1923 Amen glass1924 ballon1930 balloon goblet1931 thistle glass1935 snifter1937 balloon1951 shot-glass1955 handle1956 tulip1961 schooner1967 champagne fountain1973 1819 J. Dalton in Mem. Literary & Philos. Soc. Manch. 2nd Ser. 3 480 In January 1809, I made an experiment on the slow combustion of ether in a lamp, in a large balloon glass. 1860 J. Johnston Man. Chem. (ed. 6) iii. 231 A large balloon glass, A, is provided, containing a small quantity of water. 1926 Havre (Montana) Daily News-Promoter 21 May His Royal Highness drinking old brandy out of one of those large balloon glasses. 1940 A. Hocking Wicked Flee x. 233 Austen slowly turned his balloon glass of cognac between the palms of his hands. 1994 D. Healy Goat's Song (1995) 357 In his other hand he was holding by the stems three balloon glasses of brandy. balloon goblet n. = balloon glass n. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > containers for drink > drinking vessel > [noun] > glass glassc888 verrea1382 Venice glass1527 rummer1625 bottle glass1626 Malaga glassa1627 flute1649 flute-glass1668 long glass1680 mum-glass1684 toasting glass1703 wine glass1709 tulip-glass1755 tun-glass1755 water glass1779 tumbler-glass1795 Madeira glass1801 tumbling glass1803 noggin glass1805 champagne glass1815 table glass1815 balloon glass1819 copita1841 firing glass1842 nobbler1842 thimble glass1843 wine1848 liqueur-glass1850 straw-stem1853 pokal1854 goblet1856 mousseline1862 pony glass1862 long-sleever1872 cocktail glass1873 champagne flute1882 yard-glass1882 sleever1896 tea-glass1898 liqueur1907 dock-glass1911 toast-master glass1916 Waterford1916 stem-glass1922 Pilsner glass1923 Amen glass1924 ballon1930 balloon goblet1931 thistle glass1935 snifter1937 balloon1951 shot-glass1955 handle1956 tulip1961 schooner1967 champagne fountain1973 1931 R. Aldington Colonel's Daughter iii. 166 A large balloon goblet of very thin glass with a shallow gold deposit of brandy still in it. 1968 Oakland (Calif.) Sunday Tribune 22 Sept. (Calif. Mag.) 4/2 Glassware is Pasco balloon goblet from Bavaria. 2006 Daily Tel. (Sydney) (Nexis) 5 July 54 The Special Reserve goes through..two years of oak-barrel maturation to produce a golden-coloured drop, which comes..in a warmed balloon goblet. balloon head n. chiefly U.S. (a) a round, swollen, or large head or tip; (b) figurative (colloquial) an inflated opinion of oneself, a ‘big head’; an arrogant, conceited, or stupid person (cf. big-head n. 3, airhead n. 3). ΚΠ 1890 N.Y. Times 14 Dec. 12/5 Thrust backward from the front [of the hat], a long gold stiletto with balloon head set with turquoises. 1896 Washington Post 12 Feb. 8/4 We had a smart Alec with the Browns named Lou Phelan... Phelan had a balloon head, and he prided himself on bluffing umpires. 1910 Indianapolis Star 1 May (Mag. section) Finding himself elevated suddenly to a position of such stupendous authority, had given him what Skibby would have called ‘de balloon head’. 1933 J. T. Farrell Gas-house McGinty 316 You balloon head, you got yours comin'! 1971 Playboy June 217 One more balloon-head movie star who meddled with directing. 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer (Nexis) 2 Apr. c1 [His] balloon head and bloated physique look like he stuck the air hose from the corner filling station down his throat. balloon-headed adj. having a large or round head; (figurative) conceited; stupid; cf. balloon head n. ΚΠ 1833 D. Porter Diary 9 Feb. in Constantinople & its Environs (1835) II. 113 A company of balloon-headed Armenians next passed. 1852 G. T. Landmann Adventures & Recoll. II. xii. 320 His dazzling silver, balloon-headed cane. 1937 J. Weidman I can get it for you Wholesale vi. 51 Listen, you balloon-headed schmuck. 2005 Derby Evening Tel. (Nexis) 6 Sept. (Features section) 2 The dictatorial verbosity of balloon-headed politicians. balloon-letter n. a letter sent by balloon post. ΘΚΠ society > communication > correspondence > letter > [noun] > letters, etc., by method of dispatch or conveyance post-letter1648 ship-letterc1675 by-letter1685 penny-post letter1686 way letter1710 by-night1766 cross-letter1789 twopenny1818 box letter1827 non-paid1829 balloon-letter1870 pigeongram1875 railway letter1891 pneumatogram1894 airmail1918 aerogram1919 airgram1919 air letter1920 pneumatique1924 pneu1926 snail mail1929 aerogramme1934 airgraph1941 1870 L. Russell Let. 7 Nov. in B. Russell & P. Russell Amberley Papers (1937) II. xvi. 454 I have had three balloon letters quite lately [from her parents in Paris]. 1870 Dubuque (Iowa) Daily Herald 20 Nov. A Paris balloon letter says Trochu shortly intends to force from the city 10,000 half-starved citizens for whom he can no longer provide. 2001 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 29 Sept. l11 Hot air balloons are famous in stamp collecting because many were used to carry mail out of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870-1871... A balloon letter to Ireland..usually sells for $1,000 to $1,200. balloon payment n. Finance (originally and chiefly U.S.). a large payment due at the end of a loan period and coming after a series of considerably smaller, regular repayments. ΚΠ 1930 Los Angeles Times 11 Nov. 3/3 (advt.) No balloon payments. 1989 E. Innes & L. Southwick-Trask Financial Post Turning it Around x. 220 The federal and provincial governments pitched in by allowing their debt of $20 million to be interest-free and amortized over ten years with a balloon payment at the end of five years. 2006 Mirror (Eire ed.) (Nexis) 15 Aug. 2 Consumers were warned to be aware of a balloon payment at the end of hire purchase agreements. balloon post n. [compare German Ballonpost (1871 or earlier, originally with reference to the postal service operating out of Paris); mail sent by this service bore the French inscription Par ballon monté or Par le ballon (both 1870)] now historical a postal service that uses balloons; spec. the service which operated out of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1. ΘΚΠ society > communication > correspondence > postal services > [noun] > types of service > conveyance of mail by air balloon post1870 airmail1911 1870 Food Jrnl. Nov. 539 By balloon post. Oct. 19. 1896 Atlantic Monthly June 798/2 Since all regular communication was cut off, we..could only pace the sombre London streets..; until letters by balloon-post from our beleaguered staff there [sc. in France] would relieve our minds. 1988 Amer. Hist. Rev. 93 718/2 Microfilming of messages (used in conjunction with pigeon and balloon post during the siege of Paris). 2003 Denver Post (Nexis) 23 Mar. l8 Chinese stamps, those from Russia's communist era and covers from the Balloon Post—mail delivered in..1870 by balloon out of Paris. † balloon postman n. [after balloon post n.] Obsolete a man operating the balloon post. ΘΚΠ society > communication > correspondence > postal services > person or vehicle that carries letters or mail > [noun] > person > by balloon balloon postman1885 1885 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 581/2 The heroism displayed by French balloon postmen. balloon satellite n. a balloon-shaped communications satellite. ΘΚΠ society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > spacecraft > [noun] > satellite > used for specific purpose biosatellite1957 balloon satellite1958 navigation satellite1960 weather satellite1960 1958 Van Wert (Ohio) Times-Bull. 23 Oct. 1/8 The army today called off a sky search for the mysteriously missing balloon satellite it launched here last night. 1985 Science 25 Oct. 425/1 PAGEOS, a U.S. balloon satellite, probably was struck by untracked debris and damaged in high orbit in July 1975. 2006 European Polymer Jrnl. 42 2703 The development of inflatable structures for space application began with the ‘Echo’, ‘Explorer’, ‘Big Shot’ and ‘Dash’ balloon satellites in the 1960s. balloon shade n. chiefly North American a type of window blind made of fabric gathered with shirring, which may be drawn up to hang in a number of billowing festoons with rounded bottoms. ΚΠ 1966 Better Homes & Gardens Nov. 82/2 ‘Balloon’ draperies are bouffant when pulled up—straight and tailored when down..and they function with pulley cords in much the same way as Roman shades.] 1960 Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press 9 June 8 (advt.) Balloon Shade Pole Lamp only $14. 1976 High Point (N. Carolina) Enterprise 1 Sept. 5 b At windows, bring in more softness with billowing balloon shades. 2001 Homestyle Apr. 40/2 I think the swoops on a balloon shade should be an uneven number. balloon silk n. a type of long-staple Egyptian cotton used chiefly for making tents, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > cotton > [noun] > fine, light, or delicate percaulah1614 chambray1787 balloon silk1843 Pima1925 1843 Gardener's Mag. 19 646 A more economical mode would be to have small balloons, say balls of balloon silk of a foot or 18 in. in diameter, which might be filled at the nearest gas-house. 1919 Outing Mar. 334/3 This sleeping pocket can be had in various sizes and weights. Take for example one of the balloon silk outfits. 1940 G. W. Martin Mod. Camping Guide v. 69 Terms used in connection with tent materials... Balloon Silk..a fine cloth made of Sea Island or Egyptian cotton. The term is misleading, as no silk is used in its manufacture. 2000 USA Today (Nexis) 23 June 10d An Imperial Toilet Tent—a two-holer that ties to a tree with a tent over it, in balloon silk or canvas. balloon tyre n. a pneumatic tyre, esp. one of large cross-section inflated at relatively low pressure. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > wheel > rubber or pneumatic tyre rubber1875 tyre1875 tirea1877 pneumatic1890 cushion1891 cushion-tire1891 pneu1891 solid tyre1891 balloon tyre1899 single-tube1904 tubular tyre1908 shoe1917 solid1919 tubular1924 air wheel1930 skin1954 tub1978 1899 North Adams (Mass.) Evening Transcript 4 Aug. 5/5 The tendency in Paris is towards solid tires. The big balloon tires seen in New York are almost unknown there. Solid rubber will undoubtedly constitute the automobile tire of the future. 1924 Science 7 Mar. Suppl. p. xii/2 Balloon tires are slightly more efficient in braking than those of ordinary size..because of their lower inflation pressure. 2000 N.Y. Times 6 Aug. v. 8/4 I climbed the dunes on a quad bike, which has four balloon tires and looks like a riding mower on steroids. balloon-tyred adj. fitted with balloon tyres. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [adjective] > fitted with tyres > fitted with specific type of tyres pneumatic-tyred1890 solid-tyred1891 pneumatic-shod1894 balloon-tyred1895 high profile1916 1895 Daily News 1 June 3/1 The Princess Maud..here mounted on a balloon-tired ‘safety’ [bicycle]. 1926 Copeia No. 157. 159 This snake was crossing the pavement, at night..when struck by a balloon-tired car and stunned. 1999 W. Gibson All Tomorrow's Parties vii. 32 Her other favorite was a balloon-tired cruiser you rode along a beach. balloon vine n. chiefly U.S. a tropical American vine, Cardiospermum halicacabum, which bears large balloon-like pods. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > climbing or creeping plants > [noun] > heart-pea heart pea1597 Indian heart1597 winter cherry1597 heart-seed1759 balloon vine1835 1835 A. H. Lincoln Familiar Lect. Bot. (ed. 4) v. App. 84 Cardiospermum... Balloon vine. East Indies. 1865 C. Darwin in Jrnl. Linn. Soc. 9 88 The seed-capsules [of C. halicacabum], though light, are of enormous size (hence its English name of Balloon-vine). 1960 H. S. Zim Guide to Everglades 59 Balloon vine is named for its thin, swollen, seed capsules. 1992 Daily Herald (Chicago) 21 June viii. 5/2 Dainty-looking but easy to grow, the balloon vine is soon covered with delightful inflated seed pods. balloon whisk n. Cookery a hand-held whisk consisting of several loops of wire forming a balloon-shaped bundle beneath a single handle. ΚΠ 1961 Listener 17 Aug. 259/2 Some experts prefer a balloon whisk for egg whites and egg-and-sugar mixtures. 2004 Good Housek. (U.K. ed.) Oct. 219/2 The ingenious balloon whisk, which whips up amazingly light meringues, airy mousses and fluffy sponges. C3. attributive. a. Of or designating a method of training fruit trees in which the branches are curved from a height of about two metres down to the ground, forming the shape of a balloon. balloon trellis: a balloon-shaped trellis for training plants upon. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > cultivation of fruit > [noun] > method of training tree chastisement1601 balloon1834 1834 Penny Cycl. II. 191/1 A mode of managing apple-trees called Balloon training. 1854 Amer. Farmer's New & Univ. Hand-bk. xi. 466 This is called the balloon manner of training, and was first applied to apple-trees. 1914 W. C. McCollom Vines & how to Grow Them 171 The vine is also an excellent subject for training over small supports such as balloon trellises, etc. 1951 Dict. Gardening (Royal Hort. Soc.) III. 1662/2 P[restonia] venosa makes a pretty plant trained on pillars or on a balloon trellis. b. Designating a loan under the terms of which a balloon payment is required. Chiefly in balloon mortgage. ΚΠ 1959 Jrnl. House of Representatives (Florida) 22 Apr. 244/1 A bill..providing for the designation of balloon mortgage. 1978 N.Y. Times 30 Mar. b3/3 A pattern of ‘balloon mortgages’, those in which the principal is deferred until the end. 1999 Sunday Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 22 Aug. 20 Both banks allow you to defer payment of up to 50% of the cost of the car until the end of the term... These type of deals are fittingly called balloon loans. 2005 Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat & Chron. (Nexis) 23 July (Home Real Estate section) 1f Some buyers have taken out interest-only loans or balloon mortgages in the hopes that they can sell their vacation home at a profit. Derivatives baˈlloonful n. as much as a balloon will hold. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > measurement > the scientific measurement of volume > measure(s) of capacity > amount defined by capacity > [noun] > amount that fills other specific things sheetful?1530 streetful1595 rangeful1603 stringful1611 heavenful1637 hellful1637 skyful1645 gardenful1651 paperful1722 ropeful1726 notchful1733 breathful1815 cityful1826 forestful1832 worldful1835 treeful1837 spongeful1867 stackful1868 balloonful1870 fairful1872 socketful1872 valleyful1890 universeful1893 slingful1913 pawful1925 1870 Times 20 Oct. 9/5 Let Government despatch whole balloonfuls of fiery young orators into the Provinces,..full of words that stir the pulse. 1931 Syracuse (N. Y.) Herald 4 May 4/3 Stomach contractions of a healthy youth with a stomach containing only a balloonful of air. 2006 Evening Standard 14 June 42 Pasquale..sounds uncannily like a balloonful of helium being gradually let down. baˈlloon-like adv. and adj. (a) adv. in the manner of a balloon; (b) adj. resembling or like a balloon; inflated, swollen, puffed-up. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > [adjective] > distending > swelling > swollen bollen?c1225 bolghena1250 swollenc1325 rank?a1400 forbolned1413 puff1472 voustyc1480 knule?a1513 puffed1536 boldenc1540 tumorous1547 bladder-like1549 hoven1558 forswollen1565 uppuffed1573 bolled1578 engrossed1578 heaved1578 puffy1598 swelleda1616 bloughty1620 inflate1620 tympanous1625 tumid1626 tumoured1635 tumefied1651 bloated1664 pluff1673 inflated1744 balloon-like?1784 bladdery1785 ballooned1820 bepuffeda1849 utriculate1860 pobby1888 ?1784 London Unmask'd vi. 138 I tell you, all your projects and your schemes will vanish, balloon like, in nubibus; and so let's dismiss this frothy subject. 1838 R. S. Surtees Jorrocks's Jaunts ii. 59 A gentleman in balloon-like leathers. 1861 A. Wynter Our Social Bees 120 The dominant balloon-like tumour. 1879 ‘G. Eliot’ Theophrastus Such iv. 96 His addled originalities..and balloon-like conclusions. 1989 J. Conway Road from Coorain (1990) i. 4 A miraculous silvery-grey plant which stores its own water in small balloonlike round leaves. 2002 Townsville (Queensland) Bull. (Nexis) 14 Dec. (Weekender section) 46 Thigh-high boots which inflate balloon-like every 30 seconds to reduce cellulite. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022). balloonv. Brit. /bəˈluːn/, U.S. /bəˈlun/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: balloon n. Etymology: < balloon n. Compare French ballonner to cause (a person or thing) to be inflated or swell like a balloon (1584 in an isolated attestation in Middle French, subsequently from 1835).The following isolated earlier example may show the same word, although the sense intended is uncertain:1733 V. La Chapelle Mod. Cook II. 111 Serve them [sc. chickens in galantine] whole or in Napkins, balloon'd or cut in Slices. With branch II. compare earlier out-balloon verb (see quot. 1783 at out- prefix 4c(c)(i)). I. To inflate like a balloon. 1. a. transitive. To shape like a balloon; to puff out, to cause to be inflated like a balloon; (Medicine) to distend with air, gas, or water (cf. ballooning n. 4c). ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > expand or enlarge [verb (transitive)] > distend > inflate forblow1413 puffc1460 inflate1528 huff1601 sufflate1616 plima1691 balloon1784 bloat1815 gas1919 the world > matter > gas > air > [verb (transitive)] > inflate abloweOE blowc1425 inflate1528 huff1601 sufflate1616 puff1679 plima1691 balloon1906 1784 in Catal. Prints: Polit. & Personal Satires (Brit. Mus.) (1938) VI. 196 With Turtle stiff, and solid haunch, The hungry Cit Balloons his paunch. 1788 Compl. Art of Boxing (new ed.) 2 The fists are by no means to be closely shut,..but, on the contrary, ballooned, by admitting the air to pass in from the fist to the fourth finger. 1889 T. Bryant in Lancet 5 Jan. 8/1 The surgeon will often find..that he has entered a cavity, the walls of which are expanded or ‘ballooned’. 1906 Macmillan's Mag. Dec. 119 The wind..ballooned his cassock and carried his hat into the ditch. 1909 Practitioner Dec. 807 Several equal lengths of rubber tubing..were obtained, and at about the centre of some of them aneurysms..were ballooned. 1944 E. Carr House of All Sorts 101 A puff of wind from the open door caught and ballooned the scanties. 1994 Thrombosis Res. 73 313 Umbilical arteries, studied 2 hr after delivery, were ballooned, everted and pre-incubated. b. intransitive. To swell, puff out like a balloon; (now esp.) to gain weight rapidly. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > expand or enlarge [verb (intransitive)] > distend > swell swellOE to-swellc1000 bolnec1325 pluma1398 bladderc1440 boldena1510 to bulk1551 hove1590 tympanize1607 outswell1612 tumefy1615 extuberate1623 heave1629 blister1644 puff1648 huff1656 intumesce1794 pluff1831 balloon1841 turgesce1864 tumesce1966 1841 J. W. Orderson Creoleana ix. 99 En bon point that..ballooned to dimensions which..filled her arm chair. 1872 Cornhill Mag. June 708 His red gown ballooning behind him. 1928 C. S. Whitehead & C. A. Hoff Ethical Sex Relations (new ed.) i. viii. 287 The prepuce ‘balloons’ while the patient passes water, showing that the urine flows into this cavity more rapidly than it can escape. 1939 J. Fante Ask the Dust ix. 87 Then she..threw one foot over the side of the Ford. At once her dress ballooned out, spanked her face. 1958 Globe Mag. (Toronto) 27 Sept. 17/5 He ballooned to 175 pounds of flab and was a poor advertisement for his product. 1989 J. Conway Road from Coorain (1990) v. 106 No one could call me pretty. I had ballooned on the school's starchy diet. 2000 Ralph 7 July 146/4 ‘Snifters’..are short-stemmed, small-mouthed and ‘balloon’ out at the bottom. 2. a. transitive. To cause to increase greatly in value, number, or scale, sometimes esp. (Finance) to an artificially or unsustainably high level. Cf. inflate v. 4. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > monetary value > be valued at [verb (transitive)] > increase value of > above real value inflate1843 balloon1878 1878 Fitchburg (Mass.) Daily Sentinel 14 Oct. Shares in joint-stock companies, however skilfully ballooned by operators, will..become worthless if the enterprise yields no profits. 1913 B. White Bk. of Daniel Drew xxxviii. 397 The price was ballooned to 230. 1948 Archit. Rev. 104 89 The same press-agentry that ballooned the popularity of other stars in the field of jazz. 1993 R. J. Pond Introd. Engin. Technol. (ed. 2) viii. 214 The information age, brought on by the computer, has ballooned our information base. 2000 N.Y. Times 18 Oct. a28/5 Instead of ballooning the [national] debt..we have seen the debt actually begun to be paid down. b. intransitive. Chiefly Finance. To increase or expand greatly in value, number, or scale. Cf. ballooning adj. 2b. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [verb (transitive)] > increase rapidly or sharply balloon1901 to bump up1901 skyrocket1976 inflate1984 1901 N.Y. Times 29 Apr. 9/4 While some stocks have ballooned, most of the list has acted conservatively enough. 1934 Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Northwestern 12 May 5/1 A flood of overnight buying orders sent prices ballooning at the opening of the pits. 1967 Guardian 31 July 7/2 The official estimate..has ballooned from an early guess of $100 millions to $500 millions. 1977 Aviation Week 6 June 112/1 Champion price-buster so far in 1977 is tungsten, which has ballooned 30% in price since February. 1988 Pract. Health Spring 43/1 Not until she was married and expecting her first baby did her weight balloon out of control. 2002 BusinessWeek 2 Sept. 71/1 The number of ‘instant’ online pharmacies..has ballooned. c. intransitive. Golf. To have one's score increase rapidly to a high total through playing badly. ΚΠ 1938 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 15 July 17/1 He had five penalty shots on the first nine and ballooned all the way to 44. 1976 Billings (Montana) Sunday Gaz. 11 July 7 g Pat Bradley ballooned to 81 and was in a group at 226. 1986 Times (Nexis) 5 Sept. [She] ballooned to a gruesome 85 to add to her superb 69 of the day before. She cannot remember when she last had such a score. 2003 D. Sowell Masters i. 13 He ballooned to a seven-over-par 79 in the last round. d. intransitive. Of a problem, event, etc.: to acquire (undue or unexpected) significance or magnitude; to snowball. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [verb (intransitive)] > rapidly or sharply jump-up1890 skyrocket1895 toadstool1939 balloon1946 mushroom1951 ramp1980 1946 Jrnl. Educ. Sociol. 19 377 The mother's decision to take her problem to the counselor..is a sign that the family struggle has ballooned out of her control. 1979 PN Rev. No. 9. 47/1 What started with a perfectly defensible basis has ballooned out of all proportion. 1996 Outlook (New Delhi) 28 Aug. 10/1 But for the unprecedented..defiance of court orders by senior IPS officers accused in the..scam, it may not have ballooned into a headline grabber. 2005 Baltimore Sun (Nexis) 2 Nov. (Sports section) 1 c At last night's opener, players said the dress controversy has ballooned out of proportion. II. To lift in or like a balloon. 3. a. transitive. To carry up in, or as in, a balloon. Also figurative. Cf. balloon n. 6. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > travel > air or space travel > ballooning > carry in or as in balloon [verb (transitive)] balloon1792 1792 T. Twining in Country Clergym. 18th C. (1882) 163 I..never yet seemed so ballooned and above the globe as in ascending this great hill. 1812 G. Colman Poet. Vagaries 18 Thy pinions next..Balloon'd me from the Schools to Town. 1859 G. M. Dallas Let. 14 Oct. in Series of Lett. from London (1869) 161 The Association, during its short existence of three years, has already ballooned us into the [clouds]. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 23 July 7 The Jungfrau Railway..will shortly be ‘ballooning’ passengers of all ages..to a height of over 12,000 feet above the sea level. 2007 www.napavalleyinns.com 6 July (O.E.D. Archive) Experienced pilots who balloon you over the Napa Valley wine country and serve as your guide. b. intransitive. To ascend in, or as though in, a balloon; to travel by balloon. ΘΚΠ society > travel > air or space travel > ballooning > balloon [verb (intransitive)] balloon1836 1836 H. G. Otis in J. Quincy Hist. Harvard Univ. (1860) II. App. 663 Had it been in my imagination to conceive..what we now know to be reality, I should have been considered as ballooning in the regions of bombast. 1854 H. H. Riley Puddleford xx.236 Mr. A. and B. are boating on the Mississippi, or ‘ballooning’ in some fancy speculation on the north shore of the Oregon. 1882 Standard 2 Feb. 5/7 Whose wife was afterwards killed whilst Ballooning. 1905 Daily Chron. 7 Sept. 6/3 Only the other day Mr. Spencer ‘ballooned’ from London to Normandy. 2005 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 12 Nov. (Books section) 5 He had won fame for his travels in Central Asia, ballooned across the Channel. †c. transitive. To race (someone) in a balloon. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ 1881 Echo 3/4 An American balloonist has offered to ‘balloon’ anybody in the United States. 4. transitive. Sport. colloquial. To hit or kick (a cricket ball, football, etc.) high in the air. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > [verb (transitive)] > play ball in specific way tossc1530 send1782 place1819 dowf1825 loft1857 belt1870 screw1881 smash1882 English1884 carry1889 slice1890 mishit1903 balloon1904 rainbow1906 rifle1914 tuck1958 stroke1960 1904 Daily Chron. 20 July 7/2 As he did not quite get to the ball, he ballooned it to Garnett in the out-field, who brought off a well-judged catch. 1927 Daily Tel. 8 Feb. 16/3 As for the half-backs, they lacked method; it was not a light or flighty ball, but they were for ever ballooning it. 1946 Sunday Disp. 8 Sept. 6/1 The defenders did not help matters by..ballooning the ball to dizzy heights. 2004 Daily Tel. 25 June 1/7 From the moment David Beckham ballooned England's first penalty over the bar..the old ghosts returned. 5. intransitive. Zoology. Of a spider: to travel by ballooning using gossamer. Cf. earlier ballooning n. 2. ΚΠ 1917 A. S. Pearse Gen. Zool. 124 (caption) Spiders. Orb weavers and cocoon; ground spider carrying its cocoon; jumping spider; young individual ready to ‘balloon’. a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) II. 863 There are hundreds of gossamer spiders ballooning through the air. 1971 Southwestern Naturalist 15 326 Spiders are known to ‘balloon’ (spin out a web and float off the ground with the wind) to high elevations. 2003 Jrnl. Arachnol. 31 80/1 We constructed a novel floating ‘pitfall’ trap to catch skating spiders or those ballooning onto open water. 6. intransitive. Of an aeroplane: to rise up in the air, esp. as the result of a hard bounce on landing. ΘΚΠ society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > specific flying operations or procedures > [verb (intransitive)] > land > bounce on landing porpoise1914 balloon1931 1931 P. W. F. Mills Angles on Pract. Flying vi. 54 Certain types of aeroplane..retain [in landing] a degree of buoyancy sufficient to cause an uncomfortable tendency to ‘balloon’. 1949 J. R. Cole It was so Late 87 The aircraft ballooned when the wheels hit; it shot up thirty feet and seemed to hang suspended. 1958 D. Piggott Gliding vi. 29 If too large or quick a movement is made to level off from the approach, the glider will climb or balloon instead of flying level a few inches above the ground. 2003 Herald Express (Torquay) (Nexis) 13 Nov. 14 As the wheels touched the runway the plane..‘ballooned’ back into the air. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.?1591v.1784
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balloonn.

Phrases

Compounds

Derivatives

balloonv.