{ } n. [ OF. arbaleste, LL. arbalista, for L. arcuballista; arcus bow + ballista a military engine. See Ballista. ] (Antiq.) A crossbow, consisting of a steel bow set in a shaft of wood, furnished with a string and a trigger, and a mechanical device for bending the bow. It served to throw arrows, darts, bullets, etc. [ Written also arbalet and arblast. ] Fosbroke. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ OF. arblastere, OF. arbalestier. See Arbalest. ] A crossbowman. [ Obs. ] Speed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. bale, OF. bale, F. balle, LL. bala, fr. OHG. balla, palla, pallo, G. ball, balle, ballen, ball, round pack; cf. D. baal. Cf. Ball a round body. ] A bundle or package of goods in a cloth cover, and corded for storage or transportation; also, a bundle of straw, hay, etc., put up compactly for transportation. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bale of dice, a pair of dice. [ Obs. ] B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Baled p. pr. & vb. n. Baling. ] To make up in a bale. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. See Bail, v. t., to lade. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. bealo, bealu, balu; akin to OS. balu, OHG. balo, Icel. böl, Goth. balweins. ] 1. Misery; calamity; misfortune; sorrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

Let now your bliss be turned into bale. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Evil; an evil, pernicious influence; something causing great injury. [ Now chiefly poetic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. Balearicus, fr. Gr. baliarei^s the Balearic Islands. ] Of or pertaining to the isles of Majorca, Minorca, Ivica, etc., in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Valencia. [ 1913 Webster ]

Balearic crane. (Zool.) See Crane. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. baleine whale and whalebone, L. balaena a whale; cf. Gr. fa`laina. ] (Zool. & Com.) Plates or blades of “whalebone, ” from two to twelve feet long, and sometimes a foot wide, which in certain whales (Balænoidea) are attached side by side along the upper jaw, and form a fringelike sieve by which the food is retained in the mouth. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. b&aemacr_;lf&ymacr_;r the fire of the funeral pile; b&aemacr_;l fire, flame (akin to Icel. bāl, OSlav. bēlŭ, white, Gr. falo`s bright, white, Skr. bhāla brightness) + f&ymacr_;r, E. fire. ] A signal fire; an alarm fire. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sweet Teviot! on thy silver tide
The glaring balefires blaze no more. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ AS. bealoful. See Bale misery. ] 1. Full of deadly or pernicious influence; destructive. “Baleful enemies.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Four infernal rivers that disgorge
Into the burning lake their baleful streams. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Full of grief or sorrow; woeful; sad. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a baleful manner; perniciously. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being baleful. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. bubale. See Buffalo, n. ] (Zool.) A large antelope (Alcelaphus bubalis) of Egypt and the Desert of Sahara, supposed by some to be the fallow deer of the Bible. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ F. emballer; pref. em- (L. in) + balle bale. See 1st Bale. ] [ Obs. ] 1. To make up into a bale or pack. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To bind up; to inclose. [ 1913 Webster ]

Legs . . . embaled in golden buskins. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A feast at the time of shearing lambs. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., prop., a kettledrum; -- so named from the form of the mold used. Cf. Timbal. ] (Cookery) A seasoned preparation, as of chicken, lobster, cheese, or fish, cooked in a drum-shaped mold; also, a pastry case, usually small, filled with a cooked mixture. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]