bal French · revision 15797

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=back-formation|attested=1150–1200|origins=la-lat ballō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bal/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''bal''' ''m'' (plural bals)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a back-formation from Old French [[m|fro|baller|t=to dance]] (about 1165),^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(Académie 9)^(Wiktionary) which is [[inh|la-lat|ballō|t=to dance]] (Saint Augustine).^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|1, 218a) The Latin verb is related in sense to Greek [[grc|βαλλίζω|tr=ballízō|t=to jig about, dance]], recorded in Sicily and Magna Graecia, but its form is closer to [[m|grc|βάλλω|tr=bállō|t=to throw]], of which “ballízō” seems to be a derivative;^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Rey traces “bállō” to an Indo-European root also seen in Sanskrit.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|ballo]], [[oc|bal]], [[ca|ball]] and [[es|baile]].^(Littré 1873)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the 12th century ''bal'' means a dance: the ''Girart de Roussillon'' finds a thousand people ''as tresches e mil au bal''.^(Littré 1873)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Bal'' meant “dance” until the 16th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) By metonymy, from 1228, it became a gathering for dancing, the present sense, and also from 1794 also the place where people go to dance.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) Customs and styles of dancing gave many phrases: ''bal masqué'', ''bal costumé'', ''bal public'', ''bal musette'', ''bal populaire'', the ''carnet de bal'' in which ladies wrote their partners' names, and ''ouvrir le bal'' “to be the first to dance”, figuratively “to lead the way”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ The verb ''baller'' went out of use in the late 17th century, surviving only in the participle ''ballant'' “dangling”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1165 – ''Baller'' “to dance”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1150–1200 – ''Bal'' “a dance”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1228 – A gathering for dancing.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 16th century – The sense “dance” fades.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * late 17th century – ''Baller'' goes out of use.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1794 – A dance hall.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|ball]], a dance; a gathering where people dance: ''bal masqué'', ''bal populaire''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # A [[m|en|dance hall]].^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Ouvrir le bal'': to dance first^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989); ''(figurative)'' to lead the way.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ballet]]

+ * [[ballade]]

+ * [[baladin]]

+ * [[en|ball]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}