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ballad - 8 dictionary results

bal⋅lad

  [bal-uhd]
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–noun
1. any light, simple song, esp. one of sentimental or romantic character, having two or more stanzas all sung to the same melody.
2. a simple narrative poem of folk origin, composed in short stanzas and adapted for singing.
3. any poem written in similar style.
4. the music for a ballad.
5. a sentimental or romantic popular song.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME balade < MF < OPr balada dance, dancing-song, equiv. to bal(ar) to dance (< LL ballāre; see ball 2 ) + -ada -ade 1

Related forms:
bal⋅lad⋅ic  [buh-lad-ik] , adjective
bal⋅lad⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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bal·lad   (bāl'əd)   
n.  
    1. A narrative poem, often of folk origin and intended to be sung, consisting of simple stanzas and usually having a refrain.
    2. The music for such a poem.
  2. A popular song especially of a romantic or sentimental nature.

[Middle English balade, poem or song in stanza form, from Old French ballade, from Old Provençal balada, song sung while dancing, from balar, to dance, from Late Latin ballāre, to dance; see ball2.]
bal·lad'ic (bə-lād'ĭk, bā-) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Ballad

Bal"lad\, n. [OE. balade, OF. balade, F. ballade, fr. Pr. ballada a dancing song, fr. ballare to dance; cf. It. ballata. See 2d Ball, n., and Ballet.] A popular kind of narrative poem, adapted for recitation or singing; as, the ballad of Chevy Chase; esp., a sentimental or romantic poem in short stanzas.

Ballad

Bal"lad\, v. i. To make or sing ballads. [Obs.]

Ballad

Bal"lad\, v. t. To make mention of in ballads. [Obs.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : ballad
Spanish: balada,
German: die Ballade,
Japanese: 民謡
More Translations »

ballad

A simple narrative song, or a narrative poem suitable for singing. The ballad usually has a short stanza, such as:

There are twelve months in all the year,
As I hear many men say,
But the merriest month in all the year
Is the merry month of May.

ballad

A simple narrative song, or, alternatively, a narrative poem suitable for singing. (See under “Conventions of Written English.”)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

ballad 
1492, from O.Fr. ballade "dancing song," from O.Prov. ballada "(poem for a) dance," from L.L. ballare "to dance" (see ball (2)). Ballade, c.1386 (popularized 19c. as a type of musical composition by Frédéric Chopin), represents an earlier borrowing of the same O.Fr. word. Technically, a poem consisting of one or more triplets of seven- (later eight-) lined stanzas, each ending with the same line as the refrain, usually with an envoy.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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