From Old French balade 'dancing song,' from Late Latin ballāre 'to dance,' evolving from dance accompaniment to narrative verse.
A narrative poem or song, typically with simple stanzas and a recurring refrain, often telling a story of love or adventure.
From Old French balade 'dancing song,' from Provençal balada, from balar 'to dance,' ultimately from Late Latin ballāre 'to dance.' The word shifted from a song meant for dancing to a narrative poem by the 15th century. Key roots: *ballāre (Late Latin: "to dance").
The oldest surviving English ballads date from the 13th century, but the form exploded in popularity when broadside ballads—printed on single sheets—became the pop music of Elizabethan England, sold for a penny on street corners.