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

ballad

²

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.

Other Words From

• bal·lad·ic [b, uh, -, lad, -ik], adjective
• ballad·like 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

Along with Emily Shackleton, they wrote the heartbreak ballad “Every Little Thing.”

From Washington Post

R&B newcomer Joël caught my attention with his soul-stirring single “Clean Up,” a powerful ballad that examines both police brutality and the industrial-prison complex.

From Essence.com

Then she started driving for the pleasure of it, humming along to power ballads on Christian radio and chatting on the phone with friends.

From ProPublica

Gender roles here are not exactly as porous as they are in the original ballad.

From Vox

Because the ballad is so simple and elegant, we can see exactly what elements are important to the story at this early stage.

From Vox

This sultry ballad about break-ups and make-ups in the City of Angels is haunting stuff.

From The Daily Beast

And it was a radical part of your tool set, throwing it into a ballad, which was also a canonized jazz standard.

From The Daily Beast

There were no longer any chord changes, and it was no longer a ballad.

From The Daily Beast

Toward the end, on the ballad “Someone Else,” she flies over the crowd while straddling a giant hot dog like Slim Pickens.

From The Daily Beast

M10 has a musical ballad named after him that the band Los Sembradores de La Sierra recorded in 2011.

From The Daily Beast

I asked him to tell me how he produced a certain effect he makes in his arrangement of the ballad in Wagner's Flying Dutchman.

From Project Gutenberg

One day her mother heard her singing a popular nautical ballad, on the devotion of a sailor's bride to her betrothed.

From Project Gutenberg

Mirèio contains one ballad and two lyrics in a measure differing from that of the rest of the poem.

From Project Gutenberg

The Scotch ballad is the spontaneous production of the touching and simple genius of the nation.

From Project Gutenberg

The same Ballad contains other imitations of Chaucer's language.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• chant
• ditty