ballet

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈbæl.eɪ/, US /bælˈeɪ/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French ballet,^[2][3][4] from Italian balletto, diminutive of ballo, a dance,^[2][3][4] from Late Latin ballāre (“to dance”) (see ball, a dance).^[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A theatrical performance of dancing and pantomime telling a story: 1667 in Barnhart and the OED, the 1660s in Etymonline;^[2][6][3] Merriam-Webster gives 1634.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Merriam-Webster also records an earlier ballet (about 1556), an alteration of ballad.^[7] A dance in general is an obsolete sense of 1782.^[6] French phrases such as ballet blanc, a ballet in white costumes, are used from 1797,^[6] and compounds such as ballet dancer from 1796.^[6] Balletic is from 1930.^[6]

Timeline

• 1634 – ballet.^[7]
• 1667 – a theatrical ballet.^[2][6]
• 1796 – ballet-dancer.^[6]
• 1930 – balletic.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A classical style of dance with precise steps and graceful movements, often performed on point.
2. A theatrical work in which a story is told through dance and music.
3. A company that performs ballets.

Word family

• balletic
• balletically
• balletomane
• ballet mistress
• water ballet
• ballet master
• ballet slipper

Related words

• ball
• ballerina
• ballad

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster