ballas

[bal-uh s]

noun (used with a singular verb) Mineralogy.

a spherical aggregate of small diamond crystals used for drilling and for various industrial purposes.

Origin of ballas

apparently variant of balas in phrase balas ruby spinel ruby, balas being taken to mean “spinel”

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ballas

Historical Examples of ballas

The sides of one Neolithic tomb at Ballas were lined with bars of this kind.
El Kab
J.E. Quibell
These cists were found at Ballas both in “stairway” tombs and in open Neolithic graves.
El Kab
J.E. Quibell
This cannot be distinguished from certain fragments obtained in the Neolithic cemetery at Ballas.
El Kab
J.E. Quibell
A rough example of No. 44 was found at Ballas, used anciently as a lamp with floating wick.
El Kab
J.E. Quibell
The crucial case at Ballas was the secondary burial of a Libyan found in one of a group of stairway mastabas.
El Kab
J.E. Quibell