Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BALK, v.t. [bauk.]

1. To disappoint; to frustrate. – Locke.
2. To leave untouched; to miss or omit. – Drayton.
3. To pile, as in a heap or ridge. – Shak.
4. To turn aside; to talk beside one's meaning. [Obs.] – Spenser.
5. To plow, leaving balks.