Emily Dickinson Lexicon

bailiff (-'s), n. [OFr < late L. bājalus, carrier, manager, administrator] (webplay: execute, magistrate).

Constable; official; collector; undersheriff; district officer; public authority; one appointed to arrest persons for debts; [fig.] undertaker; cemetery officer.

bait, v. [ON beita, cause to bite.]

Allure; tempt; entice; coax; try to capture.

baize, n. [Fr. < L. badius, chestnut-colored.]

Case; cover; flannel; cloth lining; coarse double-sided woolen stuff woven with two trendles.

bake (-s), v. [Gr. φώγ-ειν, roast, parch, toast.] (webplay: fire, oven, in a hot sun, work).

Warm; cook; prepare; dry and harden by heat; [fig.] dedicate; sanctify; consecrate; hallow (see Leviticus 2:4).

balance, n. [Fr. < L. bilancia, pair of scales.] (webplay: force, part, poise, sides).

Equilibrium; stability; scale of measurement; pair of dishes joined for weighing commodities; [fig.] calm; justice; order; permanence; security (see Isaiah 40:12).

balance (-d, balancing), v. [see balance, n.] (webplay: adjustment, force, hesitate, plays, powers, precisely, suspended, weighing, weight).

Counteract; stabilize; equalize; neutralize; [fig.] judge; evaluate; measure; compare and contrast (see Job 31:6).

balcony, n. [It. < OHG balcho/palcho, a beam.] (webplay: house).

Loft; loge; gallery; mezzanine; open upper story; theater box; outer porch framing an upstairs window; [fig.] heavens; night sky.

bald, adj. [ME balled, round like a ball, smooth, hairless.] (webplay: bold, natural).

Aged; hairless; bare-headed; [fig.] austere; bare; empty; blank; meager; severe; stark; void; [word play on “bold”] audacious.

bale (-s), n. [L. balla, ball, rounded package.]

Bundle; package; parcel; stack; [fig.] cloud; cumulus formation; (see Tennyson's Locksley Hall).

Balize, proper n. [ED variant of “Belize”; appears as “Batize” in Johnson ed; < Sp. balisa, beacon, buoy, sign; or bella isla, beautiful island.]

British Honduras; a Central American nation bordering Mexico, Guatemala, and the Honduras; a country that exports natural resources such as mahogany wood; a harbor in a rich, exotic place; [fig.] a tropical paradise.