Dictionary entry

Ball (4)

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Ball, n. [F. bal, fr. OF. baler to dance, fr. LL. ballare. Of uncertain origin; cf. Gr. βάλλειν to toss or throw, or πάλλειν, πάλλεσθαι, to leap, bound, βαλλίζειν to dance, jump about; or cf. 1st Ball, n.] A social assembly for the purpose of dancing.