ballad

[ bal-uh d ]

/ ˈbæl əd /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR ballad ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any light, simple song, especially one of sentimental or romantic character, having two or more stanzas all sung to the same melody.

a simple narrative poem of folk origin, composed in short stanzas and adapted for singing.

any poem written in similar style.

the music for a ballad.

a sentimental or romantic popular song.

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Origin of ballad

1350–1400; Middle English balade < Middle French < Old Provençal balada dance, dancing-song, equivalent to bal(ar) to dance (< Late Latin ballāre; see ball²) + -ada -ade¹

OTHER WORDS FROM ballad

bal·lad·ic

[buh-lad-ik] /bəˈlæd ɪk/, adjectivebal·lad·like, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH ballad

ballad ballet ballot

Words nearby ballad

ball-buster, ball-carrier, ball-peen hammer, ball-valve thrombus, balla, ballad, ballad metre, ballad of reading gaol, the, ballad opera, ballad stanza, ballade

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for ballad

And it was a radical part of your tool set, throwing it into a ballad, which was also a canonized jazz standard.
Herbie Hancock Holds Forth|David Yaffe|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There were no longer any chord changes, and it was no longer a ballad.
Herbie Hancock Holds Forth|David Yaffe|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Toward the end, on the ballad “Someone Else,” she flies over the crowd while straddling a giant hot dog like Slim Pickens.
Miley Cyrus’s NBC Twerk-A-Thon: Tongues, Leotards, and Dwarfs, Oh My!|Marlow Stern|July 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So begins “Song For Zula,” a beauteous six-minute ballad courtesy of Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Matthew Houck and co.
The 13 Best Songs of 2013: Lorde, Kanye West, Beyoncé, and More|Marlow Stern|December 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST

As soon as she sits down, as if on cue, the Lana Del Rey ballad “Video Games” comes on.
Gina Gershon on Being Donatella Versace, ‘Showgirls,’ and Bill Clinton Rumors|Marlow Stern|October 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The village poet likewise commemorated the young lady's grief in seventeen stanzas of a ballad.
Twice Told Tales|Nathaniel Hawthorne
Jamieson has translated an inferior copy of the Danish ballad in Illustrations of North.
English and Scottish Ballads, Volume II (of 8)|Various
Finally, the style is not that of Hogg when he attempts the ballad.
Sir Walter Scott and the Border Minstrelsy|Andrew Lang
But the genius of both of these poets was deeply imbued with the spirit of the old ballad rhymes.
The Genius of Scotland|Robert Turnbull
This phrase may help us to determine the date of the authorship of the ballad.
English and Scottish Ballads, Volume VII (of 8)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for ballad

ballad

/ (ˈbæləd) /

noun

a narrative song with a recurrent refrain

a narrative poem in short stanzas of popular origin, originally sung to a repeated tune

a slow sentimental song, esp a pop song

Word Origin for ballad

C15: from Old French balade, from Old Provençal balada song accompanying a dance, from balar to dance, from Late Latin ballāre; see ball ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for ballad (1 of 2)

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.

Cultural definitions for ballad (2 of 2)

ballad

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

ballad

noun

QUIZZES

CAN YOU ACE THIS QUIZ ABOUT “COMPLIMENT” VS. “COMPLEMENT”?

Origin of ballad

OTHER WORDS FROM ballad

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH ballad

Words nearby ballad

Words related to ballad

Example sentences from the Web for ballad

British Dictionary definitions for ballad

noun

Word Origin for ballad

Cultural definitions for ballad (1 of 2)

Cultural definitions for ballad (2 of 2)