n. [ OE. balade, OF. balade, F. ballade, fr. Pr. ballada a dancing song, fr. ballare to dance; cf. It. ballata. See 2d Ball, n., and Ballet. ] A popular kind of narrative poem, adapted for recitation or singing; as, the ballad of Chevy Chase; esp., a sentimental or romantic poem in short stanzas. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To make or sing ballads. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To make mention of in ballads. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Ballad, n. ] A form of French versification, sometimes imitated in English, in which three or four rhymes recur through three stanzas of eight or ten lines each, the stanzas concluding with a refrain, and the whole poem with an envoy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A writer of ballads. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ See Monger. ] A seller or maker of ballads; a poetaster. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Ballad, n. ] Ballad poems; the subject or style of ballads. “Base balladry is so beloved.” Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. A fast-sailing schooner, used in the Bermudas and West Indies. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Corrupted fr. bullirag. ] To bully; to threaten. [ Low ] T. Warton.
Syn. -- bullirag; bullyrag. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ballasted; p. pr. & vb. n. Ballasting. ] 1. To steady, as a vessel, by putting heavy substances in the hold. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To fill in, as the bed of a railroad, with gravel, stone, etc., in order to make it firm and solid. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To keep steady; to steady, morally. [ 1913 Webster ]

'T is charity must ballast the heart. Hammond. [ 1913 Webster ]