Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ballade

/bəlˈɑd/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.94 in modern English

Syllables: bal-lade
IPA: /bəlˈɑd/

10

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of various genres of single-movement musical pieces having lyrical and narrative elements.

noun

A poem of one or more triplets of seven- or eight-line stanzas, each ending with the same line as refrain, and usually an envoi; more generally, any poem in stanzas of equal length.

Example Sentences

"Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language […] his clerks […] understood him very well. If he had written a love letter, or a farce, or a ballade, or a story, no one, either clerks, or friends, or compositors, would have understood anything but a word here and a word there."
""Dead and gone!" as Andrew Lang re-echoes in a sweetly mournful ballade[…"
"Even a 10-minute Chopin ballade for piano, let alone Messiaen’s 75-minute “Turangalila Symphony,” tries to grapple with, activate and organize a relatively substantial span of time."

Etymology

Borrowed from French ballade. Doublet of balada and ballad.

Word Breakdown

Root: *gʷelH-

Inflected Forms

ballades (plural)

Phrases

ballade royal

Frequently Paired Words

ballad

Rhymes With

god squad odd rod todd cod nod pod quad assad facade dodd

Questions

How do you pronounce ballade?: The recorded pronunciation is /bəlˈɑd/.
What does ballade mean?: Any of various genres of single-movement musical pieces having lyrical and narrative elements.
Where does ballade come from?: Borrowed from French ballade. Doublet of balada and ballad.

How to pronounce ballade

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “ballade”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/bəlˈɑd/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “ballade”.
Repeat and practice — Say “ballade” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.