To form into a ball shape, or to gather something up into a ball or spherical mass.
From 'ball' (the noun, from Old Norse 'bollr') plus the suffix '-ate' (making a verb meaning to cause something to become or perform an action).
This quiet little verb shows English's productive verb-making system—almost any noun can become a verb by adding '-ate,' giving us words like 'ballate' that work perfectly even if nobody uses them.
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