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A ball is a round object (usually
spherical A sphere () is a geometrical object that is a three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three-dimensional space.. That given point is the ce ...
, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in
ball game This is a list of ball games and ball sports that include a ball as a key element in the activity, usually for scoring points. Ball games Ball sports fall within many sport categories, some sports within multiple categories, including: *Bat-and- ...
s, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for simpler activities, such as catch or
juggling Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object ...
. Balls made from hard-wearing materials are used in
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
applications to provide very low friction bearings, known as
ball bearings A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races. The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this ...
. Black-powder weapons use stone and metal balls as projectiles. Although many types of balls are today made from
rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, an ...
, this form was unknown outside the Americas until after the voyages of Columbus. The Spanish were the first Europeans to see the bouncing rubber balls (although solid and not inflated) which were employed most notably in the
Mesoamerican ballgame The Mesoamerican ballgame ( nah, ōllamalīztli, , myn, pitz) was a sport with ritual associations played since at least 1650 BC by the pre-Columbian people of Ancient Mesoamerica. The sport had different versions in different places during ...
. Balls used in various sports in other parts of the world prior to Columbus were made from other materials such as animal bladders or skins, stuffed with various materials. As balls are one of the most familiar spherical objects to humans, the word "ball" may refer to or describe spherical or near-spherical objects. "Ball" is used metaphorically sometimes to denote something spherical or spheroid, e.g., armadillos and human beings curl up into a ball, making a fist into a ball.


Etymology

The first known use of the word ''ball'' in English in the sense of a globular body that is played with was in 1205 in ' in the phrase, "" The word came from the
Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...
''bal'' (inflected as ''ball-e, -es'', in turn from
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
''böllr'' (pronounced ; compare Old Swedish ''baller'', and Swedish ''boll'') from
Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic bran ...
''ballu-z'' (whence probably Middle High German ''bal, ball-es'', Middle Dutch ''bal''), a cognate with
Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
''ballo, pallo'', Middle High German balle from Proto-Germanic ''*ballon'' (weak masculine), and Old High German ''ballâ, pallâ'', Middle High German ''balle'', Proto-Germanic ''*ballôn'' (weak feminine). No Old English representative of any of these is known. (The answering forms in Old English would have been ''beallu, -a, -e''—compare ''bealluc, ballock''.) If ''ball-'' was native in Germanic, it may have been a cognate with the Latin ''foll-is'' in sense of a "thing blown up or inflated." In the later Middle English spelling ''balle'' the word coincided graphically with the French ''balle'' "ball" and "bale" which has hence been erroneously assumed to be its source. French ''balle'' (but not ''boule'') is assumed to be of Germanic origin, itself, however. In
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
the word πάλλα (''palla'') for "ball" is attested besides the word σφαίρα (''sfaíra''), ''
sphere A sphere () is a geometrical object that is a three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three-dimensional space.. That given point is th ...
''.


History

A ball, as the essential feature in many forms of gameplay requiring physical exertion, must date from the very earliest times. A rolling object appeals not only to a
human baby An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...
, but to a kitten and a
puppy A puppy is a juvenile dog. Some puppies can weigh , while larger ones can weigh up to . All healthy puppies grow quickly after birth. A puppy's coat color may change as the puppy grows older, as is commonly seen in breeds such as the York ...
. Some form of game with a ball is found portrayed on
Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
monuments, and is played among aboriginal tribes at the present day. In
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
, Nausicaa was playing at ball with her maidens when Odysseus first saw her in the land of the
Phaeacia Scheria or Scherie (; grc, Σχερία or ), also known as Phaeacia () or Faiakia was a region in Greek mythology, first mentioned in Homer's ''Odyssey'' as the home of the Phaeacians and the last destination of Odysseus in his 10-year journey ...
ns (Od. vi. 100). And Halios and Laodamas performed before
Alcinous In Greek mythology, Alcinous (; Ancient Greek: Ἀλκίνους or Ἀλκίνοος ''Alkínoös'' means "mighty mind") was a son of Nausithous and brother of Rhexenor. After the latter's death, he married his brother's daughter Arete who bo ...
and Odysseus with ball play, accompanied with dancing (Od. viii. 370). The most ancient balls in
Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...
have been discovered in
Karasahr Karasahr or Karashar ( ug, قاراشەھەر, Qarasheher, 6=Қарашәһәр), which was originally known, in the Tocharian languages as ''Ārśi'' (or Arshi) and Agni or the Chinese derivative Yanqi ( zh, s=焉耆, p=Yānqí, w=Yen-ch'i), is an ...
, China and are 3.000 years old. They were made of hair-filled leather.


Ancient Greeks

Among the
ancient Greeks Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
, games with balls (σφαῖραι) were regarded as a useful subsidiary to the more violent athletic exercises, as a means of keeping the body supple, and rendering it graceful, but were generally left to boys and girls. Of regular rules for the playing of ball games, little trace remains, if there were any such. The names in Greek for various forms, which have come down to us in such works as the Ὀνομαστικόν of
Julius Pollux Julius Pollux ( el, Ἰούλιος Πολυδεύκης, ''Ioulios Polydeukes''; fl. 2nd century) was a Greek scholar and rhetorician from Naucratis, Ancient Egypt.Andrew Dalby, ''Food in the Ancient World: From A to Z'', p.265, Routledge, 2003 E ...
, imply little or nothing of such; thus, ἀπόρραξις (''aporraxis'') only means the putting of the ball on the ground with the open hand, οὐρανία (''ourania''), the flinging of the ball in the air to be caught by two or more players; φαινίνδα (''phaininda'') would seem to be a game of catch played by two or more, where feinting is used as a test of quickness and skill. Pollux (i. x. 104) mentions a game called
episkyros ''Episkyros'', or ''Episcyrus'', (, ; also , , literally 'upon the public') was an Ancient Greek ball game. The game was typically played between two teams of 12 to 14 players each, being highly teamwork-oriented. The game allowed full contact ...
(ἐπίσκυρος), which has often been looked on as the origin of football. It seems to have been played by two sides, arranged in lines; how far there was any form of "goal" seems uncertain. It was impossible to produce a ball that was perfectly spherical; children usually made their own balls by inflating pig's bladders and heating them in the ashes of a fire to make them rounder, although
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
(fl. 420s BC – 340s BC) described "balls which have leather coverings in twelve pieces".


Ancient Romans

Among the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, ball games were looked upon as an adjunct to the bath, and were graduated to the age and health of the bathers, and usually a place (sphaeristerium) was set apart for them in the baths (thermae). There appear to have been three types or sizes of ball, the pila, or small ball, used in catching games, the paganica, a heavy ball stuffed with feathers, and the
follis The follis (plural ''folles''; it, follaro, ar, فلس, Fels) was a type of coin in the Roman and Byzantine traditions. Roman coin In the past, the term ''follis'' was used to describe a large bronze Roman coin introduced in about 294 (the ...
, a leather ball filled with air, the largest of the three. This was struck from player to player, who wore a kind of gauntlet on the arm. There was a game known as trigon, played by three players standing in the form of a triangle, and played with the follis, and also one known as harpastum, which seems to imply a "scrimmage" among several players for the ball. These games are known to us through the Romans, though the names are Greek.


Modern ball games

The various modern games played with a ball or balls and subject to rules are treated under their various names, such as polo,
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
, football, etc.


Round balls

File:Football Pallo valmiina-cropped.jpg, Football from association football (soccer) File:Гандбол.jpg, Handball File:Bandy ball (Orange).JPG,
Bandy ball A bandy ball is a rubber ball used for playing bandy and rink bandy. Bandy balls are manufactured by companies such as Jofa, Kosa, and Reebok. The core of the ball is made of cork and is surrounded by rubber or rubber-like plastic. Balls sho ...
File:Baseball (crop).jpg,
Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
File:Basketball.png,
Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
File:Billiards balls.jpg,
Billiard ball A billiard ball is a small, hard ball used in cue sports, such as carom billiards, pool, and snooker. The number, type, diameter, color, and pattern of the balls differ depending upon the specific game being played. Various particular ball p ...
s File:Ball and pin.jpg,
Bowling ball A bowling ball is a hard spherical ball used to knock down bowling pins in the sport of bowling. Balls used in ten-pin bowling and American nine-pin bowling traditionally have holes for two fingers and the thumb. Balls used in five-pin bowling, ...
(and
pin A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch ...
) File:Cricket-ball-red-madeinaustralia.jpg, Cricket ball File:Golfball.jpg,
Golf ball A golf ball is a special ball designed to be used in the game of golf. Under the rules of golf, a golf ball has a mass no more than , has a diameter not less than , and performs within specified velocity, distance, and symmetry limits. Like g ...
File:Brine lax ball.jpg,
Lacrosse ball A lacrosse ball is the solid rubber ball that is used, with a lacrosse stick, to play the sport of lacrosse. It is typically white for men's lacrosse, or yellow for women's Lacrosse; but is also produced in a wide variety of colours. The old NCA ...
File:Rink bandy ball.JPG,
Rinkball Rinkball is a winter team sport played on ice with ice skates and is most popular in Finland, where it is known as ''kaukalopallo''. This ball sport originated in Sweden in the 1960s and from there landed in Finland in the 1970s. The objectiv ...
File:Roller-hockey-(Quad)-Ball.jpg, Roller hockey ball File:Green_Rubber_Band_Ball.jpg,
Rubber band ball A rubber band (also known as an elastic band, gum band or lacky band) is a loop of rubber, usually ring or oval shaped, and commonly used to hold multiple objects together. The rubber band was patented in England on March 17, 1845 by Stephen P ...
File:Squash Ball Dunlop Revelation Pro 1.jpg, Squash ball File:Assortment of 40 mm table tennis balls.jpg, Table tennis balls File:Tennis_ball_01.jpg,
Tennis ball A tennis ball is a ball designed for the sport of tennis. Tennis balls are fluorescent yellow in organised competitions, but in recreational play can be virtually any color. Tennis balls are covered in a fibrous felt which modifies their aerodyna ...
File:Volleyball.jpg,
Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...
File:NewWaterPoloBall.JPG,
Water polo ball A water polo ball is a ball used in water polo and canoe polo, usually characterized by a bright yellow color and ease of grip ability, so as to allow it to be held with one hand despite its large size. Standard water polo ball characterist ...
File:Black Super Ball.jpg,
Super Ball A Super Ball or Superball is a toy bouncy ball based on a type of synthetic rubber invented in 1964 by chemist Norman Stingley. It is an extremely elastic ball made of Zectron, which contains the synthetic polymer polybutadiene as well as h ...


Prolate spheroid balls

Several sports use a ball in the shape of a
prolate spheroid A spheroid, also known as an ellipsoid of revolution or rotational ellipsoid, is a quadric surface obtained by rotating an ellipse about one of its principal axes; in other words, an ellipsoid with two equal semi-diameters. A spheroid has ci ...
: File:Wilson American football.jpg,
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
. File:Sherrin.png, Australian rules football. File:Canadian football.png,
Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...
. File:Rugbyball2.jpg,
Rugby union ball A football is a ball inflated with air that is used to play one of the various sports known as football. In these games, with some exceptions, goals or points are scored only when the ball enters one of two designated goal-scoring areas; football ...
.


See also

*
Ball (mathematics) In mathematics, a ball is the solid figure bounded by a ''sphere''; it is also called a solid sphere. It may be a closed ball (including the boundary points that constitute the sphere) or an open ball (excluding them). These concepts are defi ...
*
Buckminster Fullerene Buckminsterfullerene is a type of fullerene with the formula C60. It has a cage-like fused-ring structure (truncated icosahedron) made of twenty hexagons and twelve pentagons, and resembles a soccer ball. Each of its 60 carbon atoms is Chemical ...
"Bucky balls" * Football (ball) *
Kickball Kickball (also known as soccer baseball in most of Canada and football rounders in the United Kingdom) is a team sport and league game, similar to baseball. As in baseball, one team tries to score by having its players return a ball from home ...
*
Marbles A marble is a small spherical object often made from glass, clay, steel, plastic, or agate. They vary in size, and most commonly are about in diameter. These toys can be used for a variety of games called ''marbles'', as well being placed in mar ...
* Penny floater * Prisoner Ball * Shuttlecock *
Super Ball A Super Ball or Superball is a toy bouncy ball based on a type of synthetic rubber invented in 1964 by chemist Norman Stingley. It is an extremely elastic ball made of Zectron, which contains the synthetic polymer polybutadiene as well as h ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control