Noun

Singular ballad

Plural ballads

ballad (plural ballads)

1. A long song or poem that tells a story.

   The poet composed a ballad praising the heroic exploits of the fallen commander.

2. A slow romantic pop song.

   On Friday nights, the roller rink had a time-block called "Lovers' Lap" when they played nothing but ballads on the overhead speakers.

Quotations

• 1885, Gilbert & Sullivan, The Mikado

  A wandering minstrel I —

  A thing of shreds and patches,

  Of ballads, songs and snatches,

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative and set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later North America, Australia and North Africa. Many ballads were written and sold as single sheet broadsides. The form was often used by poets and composers from the 18th century onwards to produce lyrical ballads. In the later 19th century it took on the meaning of a slow form of popular love song and the term is now often used as synonymous with any love song, particularly the pop or rock power ballad.