Bal"ance , v. i. 1. To
have equal weight on each side; to
be in equipoise; as, the scales balance.
2. To fluctuate between motives which appear of equal force; to waver; to hesitate.
He would not
balance or err in the determination of his choice.
Locke.
3. (Dancing) To move toward a
person or couple, and then back.
Bal"ance (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Balanced (&?;);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Balancing (&?;).]
[From Balance, n.:
cf. F. balancer.]
1. To bring
to an equipoise, as the scales of a balance by adjusting the weights; to weigh in a balance.
2. To support on
a narrow base, so as to keep from
falling; as, to balance a plate on the end of a cane; to balance one's self on a tight rope.
3. To equal in number, weight, force, or proportion; to counterpoise, counterbalance, counteract, or neutralize.
One expression . . . must check and balance another.
Kent.
4. To compare in relative force, importance, value, etc.; to estimate.
Balance the good and
evil of things.
L'Estrange.
5. To settle and adjust, as an
account; to make two accounts equal by paying the difference between them.
I am very well satisfied that it is not in my power to balance accounts with my Maker.
Addison.
6. To make the
sums of the debits and credits of an
account equal; -- said of an item; as, this
payment, or credit, balances the account.
7. To arrange accounts in such a way that the
sum total of the debits is
equal to the sum total
of the credits; as, to balance a set of books.
8. (Dancing) To move toward, and then back from, reciprocally; as, to balance partners.
9.
(Naut.) To contract, as a sail, into a narrower compass; as, to balance the boom mainsail.
Balanced valve. See Balance valve, under Balance,
n.
Syn. -- To poise; weigh; adjust; counteract; neutralize; equalize.
Bal"ance (băl"ans), n. [OE. balaunce, F.
balance, fr. L.
bilanx, bilancis, having two scales; bis twice (akin to E. two)
+ lanx plate, scale.]
1. An apparatus for weighing.
&fist; In its
simplest form, a balance consists of a beam or lever supported exactly in the middle, having two scales or basins of equal weight suspended from its extremities. Another form is that
of the Roman balance, our steelyard, consisting of a lever or beam, suspended near one of its extremities, on the longer arm of which
a counterpoise slides. The name is also given to
other forms of apparatus for weighing bodies, as to the combinations of levers making up platform scales; and even to
devices for weighing by the elasticity of a spring.
2.
Act of weighing mentally; comparison; estimate.
A fair balance of the advantages on either side.
Atterbury.
3. Equipoise between the weights in opposite scales.
4.
The state of being in equipoise; equilibrium; even adjustment; steadiness.
And hung a bottle on each side
To make his
balance true.
Cowper.
The order and balance of the country were destroyed.
Buckle.
English workmen completely lose their balance.
J. S. Mill.
5. An equality between the sums total of the
two sides of an account; as, to bring one's accounts to
a balance; -- also, the excess on either side; as, the balance of an account. "A balance at the banker's." Thackeray.
I still think the balance of probabilities
leans towards the account given in the text.
J.
Peile.
6. (Horol.) A balance wheel, as of a watch, or clock. See Balance wheel (in the Vocabulary).
7.
(Astron.) (a) The constellation Libra. (b)
The seventh sign in the Zodiac, called Libra, which the sun
enters at the equinox in September.
8. A movement in
dancing. See Balance, v. t., 8.
Balance electrometer, a kind of balance, with a poised beam, which indicates, by weights
suspended from one arm, the mutual attraction of oppositely electrified
surfaces. Knight. -- Balance fish.
(Zoöl) See Hammerhead. -- Balance knife, a carving or
table knife the handle of
which overbalances the blade, and so
keeps it from contact with the table. -- Balance of power (Politics),
such an adjustment of power among sovereign states that no one state
is in a position to interfere with the independence of the others; international equilibrium; also, the ability (of a state or a third party within a state) to control the relations between sovereign states
or between dominant parties in a state. -- Balance sheet (Bookkeeping), a paper showing the balances of the open accounts of a business, the debit and credit balances footing up equally, if the system
of accounts be complete and the balances correctly taken. -- Balance thermometer, a thermometer mounted as a balance
so that the
movement of the mercurial column changes the inclination of the tube. With the aid
of electrical or mechanical devices adapted
to it, it is used for the
automatic regulation
of the temperature of rooms warmed
artificially, and as a fire alarm. -- Balance of torsion. See Torsion Balance. -- Balance of trade (Pol. Econ.), an equilibrium between the money values of the exports and imports of a country;
or more commonly, the amount required on one side or the other to
make such an equilibrium. -- Balance valve, a valve whose
surfaces are so arranged that the fluid pressure tending to seat, and that tending to unseat, the valve, are nearly in equilibrium; esp., a puppet valve which is made
to operate easily by the
admission of steam to both
sides. See Puppet valve. -- Hydrostatic balance.
See under Hydrostatic. -- To lay in balance, to put up as a pledge or security. [Obs.] Chaucer. -- To strike a balance, to find out the
difference between the debit and
credit sides of an account.
Hear it pronounced