ballo Italian · revision 38381

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=first half of the 13th century, Proverbia quae dicuntur super natura feminarum|origins=la-lat ballō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈbal.lo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ballo''' ''m'' (plural balli)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[roa-oit|balo]] and [[roa-oit|bal]], and the plurals [[roa-oit|bagli]] and [[roa-oit|bai]].^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a deverbal noun of [[ballare|t=to dance]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DEI|417)^(TLIO) The same formation is [[fr|bal]], [[pro|bal]] and [[ca|balla|t=dance party]].^(REW 1935)^(DEI|417)

+

+ The verb is [[la-lat|ballō|alt=ballāre]], first found in Augustine.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) DELI and Nocentini derive it from [[grc|βάλλω|tr=bállō|t=to throw]], whose variant [[m|grc|πάλλω|tr=pállō|t=to swing, shake]] could also mean “to dance”, and Nocentini points to [[m|grc|βαλλίζω|tr=ballízō|t=to dance]], used in the Greek of Sicily and southern Italy.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) Otto Haas instead connected that Greek verb with an orgiastic dance of Phrygian cult around a phallus;^(DELI 1999) DELI says the history of the word is less simple than it looks.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the Venetian ''Proverbia quae dicuntur super natura feminarum'', of the first half of the 13th century, for dancing to music at feasts and ceremonies.^(TLIO)^(Nocentini 2010) DELI dates the sense to Dino Compagni's ''Cronica'' (1310–1312), where the streets of a city greeting its lord are filled with dances and instruments.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Boccaccio used the word for one round of dancing (1348–1353).^(DELI 1999) Old Italian already had the phrase ''essere in ballo'', to be caught up in a difficult business, and ''uscire dal ballo'', to get out of trouble.^(TLIO) Today ''in ballo'' means “at stake”, and ''tirare'' or ''mettere in ballo'' is to bring a person or question into a matter.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) The proverb ''siamo in ballo e bisogna ballare'' says that one must finish what one has started.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ''Ballo di San Vito'', the popular name of chorea, is recorded in 1792, and ''corpo di ballo'', the permanent dancers of a theatre, in 1808.^(DELI 1999) The sense “dance party, ball” is in the title of Verdi's ''Un ballo in maschera'' (1859), and a kind of dance music in 1955.^(DELI 1999) The word also names a stage work of dance and mime, the jolting of a vehicle, and the circling of tuna in a tuna-net.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) Ottoman Turkish borrowed it, and modern [[tr|balo|t=ball]] continues the loan.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * First half of the 13th century – The Venetian ''Proverbia'' contain the first record.^(TLIO)

+ * 1310–1312 – Dino Compagni uses ''ballo'' for dancing.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it for a single round of dancing.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1792 – ''Ballo di San Vito'' is recorded for chorea.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1808 – ''Corpo di ballo'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1859 – Verdi's ''Un ballo in maschera'' uses it for a dance party.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1955 – It is recorded for a kind of dance music.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act or the art of [[m|en|dancing]]: ''Mia sorella prende lezioni di ballo il martedì.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A particular kind of [[m|en|dance]] and its music: ''La rumba è un ballo cubano.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A round of dancing: ''Mi concedi il prossimo ballo?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A dance party, a [[m|en|ball]]: ''il ballo di fine anno''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A stage work of dance and mime; a [[balletto|alt=ballet]].^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' The jolting of a vehicle, ship or aircraft: ''Su quella strada sterrata la corriera faceva un ballo continuo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # The circling of tuna in the nets of a tuna fishery.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[balletto]]

+ * [[ballonzolo]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ballare]]

+ * [[ballata]]

+ * [[ballerino]]

+ * [[fr|bal]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''In ballo'' (“at stake; involved”), ''tirare in ballo'' and ''ballo liscio'' (traditional ballroom dances such as the waltz and the mazurka) are common set phrases.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) DEI records a separate dialect ''ballo'', the big nut thrown at the others in a children's game, from [[scn|baddu]] and Calabrian, connected with [[balla|t=ball]].^(DEI|417)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}