Bald \Bald\, a. [OE. balled, ballid, perh. the p. p. of ball to reduce to the roundness or smoothness of a ball, by removing hair. [root]85. But cf. W. bali whiteness in a horse's forehead.]

1. Destitute of the natural or common covering on the head or top, as of hair, feathers, foliage, trees, etc.; as, a bald head; a bald oak.

On the bald top of an eminence. --Wordsworth.

2. Destitute of ornament; unadorned; bare; literal.

In the preface to his own bald translation. --Dryden.

3. Undisguised. `` Bald egotism.'' --Lowell.

4. Destitute of dignity or value; paltry; mean. [Obs.]

5. (Bot.) Destitute of a beard or awn; as, bald wheat.

6. (Zo["o]l.)
   (a) Destitute of the natural covering.
   (b) Marked with a white spot on the head; bald-faced.

Bald buzzard (Zo["o]l.), the fishhawk or osprey.

Bald coot (Zo["o]l.), a name of the European coot (Fulica atra), alluding to the bare patch on the front of the head.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)