Noah Webster
Balk
BALK, noun bauk.
1. A ridge of land, left unplowed, between furrows, or at the end of a field.
2. A great beam, or rafter.
3. Any thing left untouched, like a ridge in plowing.
4. A frustration; disappointment.
BALK, verb transitive bauk. To disappoint; to frustrate.
2. To leave untouched; to miss or omit.
3. To pile, as in a heap or ridge.
4. To turn aside; to talk beside one's meaning.
5. To plow, leaving balks.