ballet

English

A pas de deux of a production of the ballet Don Quixote.

Etymology

Borrowed from French ballet, from Italian balletto (“short dance, ballet”), diminutive form of ballo (“group dance”), from Late Latin ballō (“to dance”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) enPR: bă-lāʹ, băʹlā('), IPA^(key): /bælˈeɪ/, /ˈbæl(ˌ)eɪ/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbal.eɪ/, /ˈbal.ɪ/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /bælˈæɪ/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /bɛlˈæɪ/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /bɐleː/, /bɐlɪː/
• Rhymes: -æleɪ, -æli, -eɪ
• Hyphenation: bal‧let

Noun

ballet (countable and uncountable, plural ballets)

2. (dance) A classical form of dance.

   a classically-trained ballet dancer

4. A theatrical presentation of such dancing, usually with music, sometimes in the form of a story.

   Let's go to the ballet in the theatre tomorrow!

5. The company of persons who perform this dance.

   Zara joined the ballet at the age of 14.

6. (music) A light part song, frequently with a fa-la-la chorus, common among Elizabethan and Italian Renaissance composers.
7. (heraldry, uncommon) A (small) ball i.e. roundel on a coat of arms, called a bezant, plate, etc., according to colour.
   • 1741, Richard Izacke, Remarkable Antiquities of the City of Exeter [...] by Richard Izacke [...] Second Edition:

     9. Peter West, Ar. bears sable Ballets argent a Lyon Rampant.

8. (figurative) Any intricate series of operations involving coordination between individuals.
   • 1990, Historic Preservation: Quarterly of the National Council for Historic Sites and Buildings, volumes 42-43:

     Food preparation on a potager no doubt became a kitchen ballet in which pans were constantly shifted, coals constantly replenished, and grates shaken out.

   • 1991, Stephen King, Needful Things:

     Henry Payton joined Alan on the sidelines during the conclusion of the oddly delicate ballet known as On-Scene Investigation.

Derived terms

• antiballet
• ballet boot
• balletcore
• ballet dad
• ballet dancer
• ballet flat
• ballet flats
• balletgoer
• balletgoing
• balletic
• balletlike
• ballet master
• balletmaster
• ballet mistress
• ballet mom
• ballet mum
• ballet music
• balletomane
• balletomania
• ballet shoe
• ballet slipper
• ballet troupe
• balletwear
• fairy ballet
• nonballet
• preballet
• ski ballet
• water ballet

 

Translations

form of dance

• Albanian: balet (sq) m
• Arabic: بَالِيه m (bālēh)
• Armenian: բալետ (hy) (balet)
• Azerbaijani: balet (az)
• Belarusian: бале́т m (baljét)
• Bengali: ব্যালে (bêle)
• Bulgarian: бале́т m (balét)
• Burmese: ဘဲလေး (my) (bhai:le:)
• Catalan: ballet m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 芭蕾舞 (zh) (bālěiwǔ), 舞劇／舞剧 (zh) (wǔjù)

• Czech: balet (cs) m
• Danish: ballet c
• Dutch: ballet (nl)
• Estonian: ballett
• Finnish: baletti (fi)
• French: ballet (fr) m
• Georgian: ბალეტი (baleṭi)
• German: Ballett (de) n
• Greek: μπαλλέτο (balléto)
• Greenlandic: balletti
• Hebrew: בָּלֵט (he) m (balét)
• Hindi: बैले (baile)
• Hungarian: balett (hu)
• Icelandic: ballett (is) m, listdans (is) m, leikdans m
• Indonesian: balet (id)
• Irish: bailé m
• Italian: balletto (it) m
• Japanese: バレエ (ja) (barē)
• Kalmyk: балет (balet)
• Kazakh: балет (balet)
• Korean: 발레 (ko) (balle)
• Kyrgyz: балет (ky) (balet)
• Lao: ບາເລ (lo) (bā lē)
• Latvian: balets (lv) m
• Lithuanian: baletas (lt) m
• Macedonian: бале́т m (balét)
• Malay: balet
• Maori: kanikani hītekiteki, ori hīteki
• Mongolian: балет (balet)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ballett m

  Nynorsk: ballett m

• Persian: باله (fa) (bâle), رقص باله (raqs-e bâle)
• Polish: balet (pl) m
• Portuguese: balé (pt) m
• Romanian: balet (ro) n
• Russian: бале́т (ru) m (balét)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: балет m

  Roman: balet (sh) m

• Slovak: balet m
• Slovene: balet (sl) m
• Spanish: ballet (es) m, baile (es) m
• Swedish: balett (sv) c
• Tajik: балет (balet)
• Thai: บัลเลต์ (ban-lêe)
• Turkish: bale (tr)
• Turkmen: balet (tk)
• Ukrainian: бале́т (uk) m (balét)
• Urdu: بیلی (bailē)
• Uzbek: balet (uz)
• Vietnamese: ba lê (vi)
• Yiddish: באַלעט (balet)
• Yoruba: ijó alálọ̀ọ́yípo

theatrical presentation

• Armenian: բալետ (hy) (balet)
• Catalan: ballet m
• Czech: balet (cs) m
• Danish: ballet c
• Esperanto: baleto (eo)
• Finnish: baletti (fi)
• French: ballet (fr) m
• German: Ballett (de) n
• Irish: bailé m
• Kalmyk: балет (balet)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ballett m

  Nynorsk: ballett m

• Polish: balet (pl) m
• Portuguese: balé (pt) m
• Romanian: balet (ro) n
• Russian: бале́т (ru) m (balét)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: балет m

  Latin: balet (sh) m

• Swedish: balett (sv) c
• Vietnamese: vở ba lê

company of persons

• Catalan: ballet m
• Finnish: baletti (fi)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ballett m, ballettkompani n, ballettselskap n

• Polish: balet (pl) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Crimean Tatar: ^{(please verify)} balet
• Ido: ^{(please verify)} baleto (io)
• Volapük: ^{(please verify)} baolet (vo)

Verb

ballet (third-person singular simple present ballets, present participle balleting, simple past and past participle balleted)

1. To perform an action reminiscent of ballet dancing.
   • 2014 Rutherford's Vascular Surgery E-Book - Page 1340

     Situations that typically require longer iliac limbs than the measurements suggest include extreme iliac tortuosity, “balleting” of the limbs (Endurant and Excluder) (Fig. 90-3), and the need to extend to the external iliac arteries. It these anatomic circumstances, it is prudent to choose a longer length when in doubt.

   • 2016, Jacob Russell Dring, Endless the Chase:

     Unfortunately, he could only sustain so much abuse. Footfalls approached. Kanoa's lips smacked and his jaw hung open. His eyelids fluttered, their underlying gaze balleting without clarity. He felt beyond sick, and his world spun immensely. A garbled voice of incoherency seemed to be his only link to this realm of consciousness.

   • 2017, Num Nums, “A Total Bust a Move”, in The ZhuZhus:

     Frankie's obviously going to ballet her way to the trophy.

Translations

Translations

• Polish: baletować impf (colloquial)

See also

• mime
• modern dance

Anagrams

• betall

Catalan

Noun

ballet m (plural ballets)

1. ballet

Further reading

• “ballet” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “ballet”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “ballet” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “ballet” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Chavacano

Etymology

Borrowed from English ballet, from French ballet, from Italian balletto (“short dance, ballet”), diminutive form of ballo (“ball”).

Noun

ballet

1. ballet (dance tradition and style)

Cimbrian

Verb

ballet

1. inflection of ballan:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person plural present indicative
   3. second-person plural present subjunctive
   4. second-person plural imperative

Danish

Etymology

Either from French ballet or directly from Italian balletto, the diminutive form of ballo (“dance, ball”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /balɛt/, [b̥aˈlɛd̥]

Noun

ballet c (singular definite balletten, plural indefinite balletter)

1. ballet

Inflection

Declension of ballet

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	ballet	balletten	balletter	balletterne
genitive	ballets	ballettens	balletters	balletternes

Descendants

• → Greenlandic: balletti

Further reading

• “ballet” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French ballet, from Middle French ballet, from Italian balletto. An instance of spelling pronunciation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɑˈlɛt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bal‧let
• Rhymes: -ɛt

Noun

ballet n (plural balletten, diminutive balletje n)

1. ballet

Derived terms

• balletdanser
• balletdanseres
• balletles
• balletschoen
• balletzaal
• waterballet

 

Related terms

• bal
• ballerina
• ballerino

 

Descendants

• → Indonesian: balèt
• → Papiamentu: balèt

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian balletto.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ba.lɛ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

ballet m (plural ballets)

1. ballet

Derived terms

• ballet à ski
• ballet-féerie
• corps de ballet
• maître de ballet

Descendants

Descendants

• → Dutch: ballet
  • → Indonesian: balèt
  • → Papiamentu: balèt
• → English: ballet
• → Persian: باله (bâle)
• → Portuguese: balé, balê, ballet (unadapted form)
• → Swedish: balett
• → Thai: บัลเลต์ (ban-lêe)
• → Turkish: bale
• → Vietnamese: ba lê

Further reading

• “ballet”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

ballet

1. second-person plural subjunctive I of ballen

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈbal.let/, [ˈbälːʲɛt̪]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈbal.let/, [ˈbälːet̪]

Verb

ballet

1. third-person singular present active subjunctive of ballō (“to dance”)

Northern Sami

Pronunciation

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈpalleh(t)/

Verb

ballet

1. inflection of ballat:
   1. third-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person singular past indicative
   3. second-person plural imperative

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

ballet n

1. definite singular of ball (Etymology 2)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

ballet n

1. definite singular of ball (Etymology 2)

Spanish

Alternative forms

• balé (rare)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French ballet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /baˈle/ [baˈle]
  • Rhymes: -e
• IPA^(key): /baˈlet/ [baˈlet̪]
  • Rhymes: -et

Noun

ballet m (countable and uncountable, plural ballets)

1. ballet

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Derived terms

• cuerpo de ballet

 

Further reading

• “ballet”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28