ballade

[ buh-lahd, ba-; French ba-lad ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, plural bal·lades [b, uh, -, lahdz, ba-, b, a, -, lad].

a poem consisting commonly of three stanzas having an identical rhyme scheme, followed by an envoy, and having the same last line for each of the stanzas and the envoy.
Music. a composition in free style and romantic mood, often for solo piano or for orchestra.

ballade

/ balad; bæˈlɑːd /

prosody a verse form consisting of three stanzas and an envoy, all ending with the same line. The first three stanzas commonly have eight or ten lines each and the same rhyme scheme
music an instrumental composition, esp for piano, based on or intended to evoke a narrative

Origin of ballade¹

1485–95; < Middle French, variant of balade ballad

The opening of this first Ballade is sad, sinister and mysterious, like the old Scotch story.

The second ballade, in D flat major, is more melodious and attractive, but less strong.

The belt over the hips of the cotehardie holds the purse, and often a ballade or a rondel.

He was condemned to die—he wrote his marvellous Ballade of the Gibbet while lying under sentence of death—but escaped.

The laws of the ballade apply to the chant royal, with some added details of its own.

April 18, 2024petrichor

[pet-ri-kawr]

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Browse