ballon

or ba·lon

[ French ba-lawn ]

noun

, Ballet.

1. the lightness and grace of movement that make a dancer appear buoyant.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ballon¹

First recorded in 1820–30; from French: literally, “balloon” ( balloon ), describing a dancer who appeared to be floating in the air while executing a jump or other movement

Example Sentences

“Taking 20 pages of a book not released yet is less likely to be deemed fair use,” Ballon said.

From The Daily Beast

After lunch, we strolled along the Boulevard du Jeu-de-Ballon, the tramway street.

From Project Gutenberg

From Belfort to Ballon d'Alsace there is a rise of some four thousand feet.

From Project Gutenberg

And in the early morning she had sent her note to Kitty—a ballon d'essai, despatched in a horror of great fear.

From Project Gutenberg

And it was at this period that the expedient of the ballon sonde, or unmanned balloon, was happily thought of.

From Project Gutenberg

In the autumn of 1916 the newspapers put forth a ballon d'essai.

From Project Gutenberg