ballad

[bal-uhd]

noun

1. any light, simple song, especially 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.

ballad

/ ˈbæləd /

noun

1. a narrative song with a recurrent refrain

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

3. a slow sentimental song, esp a pop song

ballad

¹

1. 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

²

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

Other Word Forms

• balladic adjective
• balladlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ballad¹

1350–1400; Middle English balade < Middle French < Old Provençal balada dance, dancing-song, equivalent to bal ( ar ) to dance (< Late Latin ballāre; ball ² ) + -ada -ade ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of ballad¹

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

Example Sentences

The Scythe, a sumptuously wounded ballad released as the album's second single, goes even further back.

Read more on BBC

The heart of the concert was the stunning one-two punch of “Casual” into “The Subway,” Roan’s most grandly emotional ballads, in which her voice soared with what seemed like total effortlessness.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Roan played Coachella last year, won the Grammy for new artist and released a couple of singles this year — the country stomper “The Giver” and misty pop ballad “The Subway.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The ballad “Eldest Daughter” has a musical delicacy that doesn’t match its lyrical content.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“She didn’t record it because it sounded like a hit,” says Billy Steinberg, who co-wrote the stark, slow-moving ballad with Tom Kelly.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• chant 
• ditty