1. Originally, a ball used for secret voting. Hence: Any printed or written ticket used in voting.
2. The act of voting by balls or written or printed ballots or tickets; the system of voting secretly by balls or by tickets.
The insufficiency of the ballot.
Dickens.
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3. The whole number of votes cast at an election, or in a given territory or electoral district.
Ballot box, a box for receiving ballots.
Bal"lot (bl"lt), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Balloted; p. pr. & vb. n. Balloting.] [F. ballotter to toss, to ballot, or It. ballottare. See Ballot, n.] To vote or decide by ballot; as, to ballot for a candidate.
Bal"lot, v. t. To vote for or in opposition to.
None of the competitors arriving to a sufficient number of balls, they fell to ballot some others.
Sir H. Wotton.
Bal"lo*tade` (bl"l*täd` or - td`), n. [F. ballottade, fr. ballotter to toss. See Ballot, v. i.] (Man.) A leap of a horse, as between two pillars, or upon a straight line, so that when his four feet are in the air, he shows only the shoes of his hind feet, without jerking out.
Bal`lo*ta"tion (&?;), n. Voting by ballot. [Obs.] Sir H. Wotton.
Bal"lot*er (&?;), n. One who votes by ballot.
Bal"lo*tin (&?;), n. [F.] An officer who has charge of a ballot box. [Obs.] Harrington.
Bal"low (&?;), n. A cudgel. [Obs.] Shak.
Ball"proof` (&?;), a. Incapable of being penetrated by balls from firearms.
Ball"room` (&?;), n. A room for balls or dancing.
Balm (bäm), n. [OE. baume, OF. bausme, basme, F. baume, L. balsamum balsam, from Gr. ba`lsamon; perhaps of Semitic origin; cf. Heb. bsm. Cf. Balsam.]