adj. 1 (of a person) with the scalp wholly or partly lacking hair. 2 (of an animal, plant, etc.) not covered by the usual hair, feathers, leaves, etc. 3 colloq. with the surface worn away (a bald tyre). 4 a blunt, unelaborated (a bald statement). b undisguised (the bald effrontery). 5 meagre or dull (a bald style). 6 marked with white, esp. on the face (a bald horse). bald eagle a white-headed eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), used as the emblem of the United States. balding adj. (in senses 1-3). baldish adj. baldly adv. (in sense 4). baldness n.
[ ME ballede, orig. 'having a white blaze', prob. f. an OE root ball- 'white patch' ]