from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Bald \Bald\ (b[add]ld), a. [OE. balled, ballid, perh. the p. p.
of ball to reduce to the roundness or smoothness of a ball,
by removing hair. [root]85. But cf. W. bali whiteness in a
horse's forehead.]
1. Destitute of the natural or common covering on the head or
top, as of hair, feathers, foliage, trees, etc.; as, a
bald head; a bald oak.
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On the bald top of an eminence. --Wordsworth.
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2. Destitute of ornament; unadorned; bare; literal.
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In the preface to his own bald translation.
--Dryden.
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3. Undisguised. " Bald egotism." --Lowell.
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4. Destitute of dignity or value; paltry; mean. [Obs.]
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5. (Bot.) Destitute of a beard or awn; as, bald wheat.
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6. (Zool.)
(a) Destitute of the natural covering.
(b) Marked with a white spot on the head; bald-faced.
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{Bald buzzard} (Zool.), the fishhawk or osprey.
{Bald coot} (Zool.), a name of the European coot ({Fulica
atra}), alluding to the bare patch on the front of the
head.
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