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

Then there’s Sade’s “Young Lion,” a tolling piano ballad in which the famous soul singer asks her son to forgive her for not recognizing his gender identity earlier than she did.

From Los Angeles Times

“Keep A Picture” is a modern Appalachian mountain ballad in terms of the exquisite, tangible pathos.

From Salon

Near the end of the album, Carpenter dials down the comedy for “Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry,” a sad and shimmery ballad about the thin line between love and war.

From Los Angeles Times

That same year, she wore a similar ball gown in a TikTok featuring a piano rendition of her ballad Champagne Problems.

From BBC

Accompanying the Instagram post is Swift's ballad So High School from the Tortured Poets Department album - rumoured to have been written about Kelce.

From BBC

Related Words

• chant 
• ditty