Bal*lade" (&?;), 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.
Bal"lad*er (&?;), n. A writer of ballads.
Bal"lad mon`ger (&?;). [See Monger.] A seller or maker of ballads; a poetaster. Shak.
Bal"lad*ry (&?;), n. [From Ballad, n.] Ballad poems; the subject or style of ballads. "Base balladry is so beloved." Drayton.
{ Bal"la*hoo, Bal"la*hou } (bl"l*h), n. A fast-sailing schooner, used in the Bermudas and West Indies.
Bal"la*rag (-rg), v. t. [Corrupted fr. bullirag.] To bully; to threaten. [Low] T. Warton.
Bal"last (bl"last), n. [D. ballast; akin to Dan. baglast, ballast, OSw. barlast, Sw. ballast. The first part is perh. the same word as E. bare, adj.; the second is last a burden, and hence the meaning a bare, or mere, load. See Bare, a., and Last load.] 1. (Naut.) Any heavy substance, as stone, iron, etc., put into the hold to sink a vessel in the water to such a depth as to prevent capsizing.