balletn.1
/ˈbaleɪ/, U.S. /bæˈleɪ/ 1. A dramatic entertainment consisting of dance and mime performed to music; (in early use) a theatrical spectacle intended to illustrate the costumes and culture of other nations, or to dramatize through music and dance some myth or narrative; (later) a theatrical dance performance using precise and highly formalized set steps and techniques. Also as a mass noun (originally with the, now often without article): this as a genre or style of dancing; ballet dancing.The word ballet is now most commonly applied to classical ballet, which was established in its present form in France during the 19th cent., and hence borrows much of its terminology from French. It is characterized by light, graceful movement, esp. with the legs turned out in the hip sockets, and by the women dancing on pointe.
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society > leisure > dancing > ballet > [noun]
ballet1608
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > vocal music > types of song > [noun] > song for dancing
carol1303
ballad1508
ring-songa1522
ballet1608
corroboree1847
shout1862
1608 E. Grimeston tr. J. F. Le Petit Gen. Hist. Netherlands 1071 The masse which was songe before the King, deserued the name of a ballet or stageplay.
1653 Severall Proc. Parl. No. 178 2797 Paris 22 Febru. 1653. The 17 instant in the morning, were stuck up printed papers in several places of this City, that no persons of any quality visit the Kings Ballet, except he have at least 20 Pistolls, upon pain of death.
1668 J. Dryden Of Dramatick Poesie 43 Not a Ballette [1717 Balette] or Masque, but a Play.
1676 G. Etherege Man of Mode ii. i. 22 [The Russian] Balladins..are Now practising a famous Ballat which will Be suddenly danc'd at the Bear-Garden.
1765 tr. A. Goudar Chinese Spy II. xxv. 102 Almost every scene of the opera concludes with a dance, and after every act comes a ballet.
1777 N. W. Wraxall Mem. Kings of France II. xi. 99 Sixteen ladies of the court,..in dresses emblematical of their characters, formed a ballad and dance..in the palace of the Tuilleries.
1788 Eastern Theatre Erected 6 (note) A Ballet, danced at the Opera House, taken from the tragedy of Macbeth.
1812 Examiner 4 May 283/2 M. Didelot has constructed a fanciful ballet.
1837 New Monthly Mag. 51 471 A perfect artiste of the ballet..going through her admirable evolutions.
1865 Law Times Rep. 371 A ballet of action has a plot, a ballet of divertissement has none.
1884 St. James's Gaz. 29 Nov. 6 The sensation of a London season was the appearance of a new ballerina in a new ballet.
1934 A. Stokes in R. Copeland & M. Cohen What is Dance? (1983) iv. 253 Moresque or grotesque dances..have existed in ballet since the earliest days, since the seventeenth century masques.
1958 Tempo No. 47. 21 Veneziana, an ‘old’ ballet by Andreé Howard but new to this company, was an untarnished delight.
1982 Associated Press (Nexis) 21 Apr. I've never liked ballet. It always seems to consist of thin, pale, serious souls..carrying on like a swan with gastroenteritis.
2006 Times (Nexis) 15 Dec. (Times2 section) 20 It may be childhood's favourite ballet but..this is a Nutcracker to touch the adult heart.
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society > leisure > dancing > ball or dance > [noun]
treschec1290
hoppingc1330
dancec1385
ball?1605
ballet1657
dancing-match1740
dancing-assembly1765
fandango1766
dancing-party1852
German1853
rag1899
ngoma1905
rat race1937
1657 H. Stubbe Clamor 53 Afterwards he [sc. Ronsard, in a poem on Queen Margaret] describes the Queens dancing at the Ballet Royall.
1658 R. Flecknoe Enigmaticall Characters 60 His dancing dayes are never done, and he is a brave fellow all the year, but on a Bal or Grand-Ballet night without compare.
3. In extended use and figurative.
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society > leisure > dancing > [noun] > a dance
chore1382
dance1393
measure?c1430
virlyc1430
tracec1450
platfoot1559
hop-about1593
firk1637
footing1652
ballet1786
stand-up1861
1786 S. Rogers Ital. Song in Ode Superstit. 14 The ballet danc'd in twilight glade.
1829 W. Scott Lett. Demonol. i. 20 The daily persecution of this domestic ballet.
1844 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit xix. 234 In every pane of glass there was at least one tiny bird in a tiny bird-cage, twittering and hopping his little ballet of despair.
1902 G. W. Carryl Garden of Years (1904) 67 The ballet of the nimble-footed snow.
1926 C. Day Lewis in Oxf. Poetry 15 The ballet of minnows Moving together In lithe sarabande.
1990 Adweek (U.S.) (Nexis) 14 May The mental ballet and verbal gymnastics that precede the unveiling..of their fall schedules.
2002 R. Murphy Kick (2003) 293 The ballet of birds continues in the sky.
4. Now chiefly with capital initial. A ballet company (usually as part of the full name of a company).
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1872 N.Y. Herald 18 June 4/3 The visit of Fraulein Grantzow, solo danseuse of the Russian Imperial ballet.
1911 Times 11 Feb. 10/3 The engagement of the Imperial Russian Ballet from the Opera Houses of St Petersburg and Moscow for the season at Covent Garden.
1928 Sunday Express 1 July 5 The Ballet was given a laissez-passer and were allowed to come to England through Paris.
1961 G. B. L. Wilson Dict. Ballet (rev. ed.) 235 The Diaghileff Ballet.
1976 N.Y. Times 12 Sept. ii. 12/4 The startling, high leg extensions of..the New York City Ballet's Colline Neary will never be found in a Royal Ballet ballerina.
2006 Zest Jan. 55 The English National Ballet's winter production of The Sleeping Beauty.
Compounds
C1.
ballet company n.
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1825 Times 9 Nov. 2/3 The dancing, again, is peculiarly bad, Covent-garden having no ballet company.
1915 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Sentinel 16 Oct. 6/2 She had the pleasure..of attending a rehearsal of the ballet company, of which Mlle. Pavlowa is at the head.
2001 H. Castor Spilling Beans on Making It in Ballet 67 In a classical ballet company, the dancers are divided into different ranks.
ballet dance n.
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society > leisure > dancing > ballet > [noun] > dance
ballet dance1760
1760 Impostors Detected II. iii. iii. 36 They formed themselves into a ballet-dance together, which ended in a battle between the spectres and the furies.
1770 Public Advertiser 15 Dec. 1/2 (advt.) Hay-Market... A new Ballad Dance, by Mons. Leppec. The Scenes and Dresses are entirely new.
1796 Gazette of U.S. 19 Nov. (advt.) A new Ballet Dance, called the Back Countryman, or the New Settlers.
1871 H. B. Stowe My Wife & I xlvi. 438 Whisky and Frisky have pitched into a pile of the proof-sheets..and performed a ballet dance with them.
1912 W. Owen Let. 28 Oct. (1967) 165 A lesson in the ballet-dance.
2007 Lincoln (Nebraska) Jrnl. Star (Nexis) 27 Apr. j1 I had never seen a ballet before, and he did a ballet dance for me in the front room.
ballet dancer n.
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society > leisure > dancing > ballet > [noun] > ballet-dancer
ballet dancer1759
figurante1782
figurant1790
1759 in T. Flloyd tr. T.-S. Gueullette Tartarian Tales 285 Comedians and Ballet-Dancers are very common in the Indies.
1836 Q. Rev. No. 111. 87 Daughter of a worn-out ballet-dancer.
1928 Times 9 July 14/2 Miss Edna Covey, the American ballet dancer.
2001 Signa 27 271 A stereotypical image of the female ballet dancer..has become dominant in public consciousness.
ballet dancing n. and adj.
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1799 tr. A. F. von Knigge Hist. Amtsrath Gutman xviii. 256 The young ladies..took a singing master, and would learn ballet dancing.
1859 G. W. Thornbury in Househ. Words 26 Feb. 304/2 The little ballet-dancing virgins.
1916 B. Matthews Bk. about Theater x. 183 The more poetic and ethereal ballet-dancing of Rita Sangalli.
2006 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 27 Dec. r1 She turned to the arts and took up ballet dancing.
ballet-drama n.
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society > leisure > dancing > ballet > [noun] > types of
ballet d'action1782
ballet romance1799
Russian ballet1817
ballet-drama1886
ballet blanc1927
ballet bouffe1934
symphonic ballet1936
ballet bouffon1958
1886 Decatur (Illinois) Daily Republican 29 Dec. 3/3 The spectacular and ballet drama, ‘Olio’, by Bartley Campbell, will be the bill at the opera house to-morrow night.
1915 E. R. Lankester Diversions of Naturalist 176 The great traditions of fine stage-dancing and ballet-drama.
1999 Mod. Lang. Rev. 94 872 The various German types of musical ballet-drama..are carefully defined.
ballet girl n.
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society > leisure > dancing > ballet > [noun] > ballet-dancer > female
ballerina1789
danseuse1828
ballet girl1839
toe-dancer1898
1839 Gentleman's Mag. 4 161 In due time, we reached the residence of the ballet girl.
1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair liii. 479 Your mother, the ballet-girl.
1912 Times 20 Apr. 4/1 Her eight impressions of ballet girls are very pleasant.
2003 Dance Res. 21 41 His involvement in the ballet gets short shrift apart from his affairs with ballet girls.
ballet-goer n.
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1907 Times 31 Dec. 8/5 We prophesy that the ballet-goer of 20 years hence will be wild over another English première danseuse—Miss Phyllis Bedells.
1938 New Statesman 23 July 152/2 When the ordinary ballet-goer is confronted with a new ballet..he is likely first of all to be taken with the story.
2006 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 30 July 24 British ballet-goers are a conservative bunch and visiting companies tend to play safe.
ballet-lover n.
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1886 N.Y. Times 14 Mar. 5/3 Thomé could write better for the tastes of the opera ballet lovers than for the promenading merry-makers of the Eden.]
1926 Syracuse (N.Y.) Post-Standard 21 Apr. 12/2 Ballet-lovers may be interested to know that Maria Fokine..has been engaged as premiere danseuse for the Mordkin ballet tour of the United States and Canada.
1962 Times 25 Apr. 16/5 Everything that the orthodox ballet critic and ballet-lover hold dear.
2007 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 25 Apr. 27 He was the first rock star I ever truly adored; an odd choice for a quiet ballet-lover.
ballet music n.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > [noun] > other general types
country music1585
water musicc1660
concert music1776
eye music1812
ballet music1813
night music1832
absolute music1856
Tafelmusik1880
Ars Antiqua1886
Ars Nova1886
early music1886
tone poetry1890
mood music1922
Gebrauchsmusik1930
shake music1935
modernistic1938
industrial1942
spasm music1943
musica reservata1944
protest music1949
night music1950
palm court music1958
title music1960
bottleneck guitar1961
rinky-tink1962
Schrammel-musik1967
sweet music1967
chutney1968
roots music1969
electronica1980
multiphonics1983
chutney soca1987
chiptune1992
1813 Edinb. Advertiser 26 Nov. 1 The Overture, together with the Ballet Music, will be led by Mr Stabilini.
1835 Penny Cycl. III. 331/2 A composer of good ballet-music is carefully attentive to locality and to nationality.
1911 Times 18 Feb. 10/6 Their names are sufficient to show the standard that ballet music has in Russia.
2006 Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram (Nexis) 18 Nov. b2 It's a pity that ballet music seldom gets the full treatment and respect it deserves.
ballet romance n.
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society > leisure > dancing > ballet > [noun] > types of
ballet d'action1782
ballet romance1799
Russian ballet1817
ballet-drama1886
ballet blanc1927
ballet bouffe1934
symphonic ballet1936
ballet bouffon1958
1799 Times 12 Apr. 1/1 An entirely New Grand Ballet Romance, called John of Calais.
1801 Monthly Mirror Aug. 131 The Corsair..A grand ballet romance, under this title, was performed for the first time.
1939 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Amer. 10 Dec. 43/5 Charade: Or the Debutante. Ballet Romance in One Act.
ballet skirt n.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > clothing for lower body > skirt > types of > ballet skirt
ballet skirt1858
parasol skirt1876
tutu1910
1858 J. G. Bertram Story of Stolen Heir III. v. 77 The aunt thought the usual ballet skirts indecent.
1867 T. W. Robertson Caste i. iii. 34 (stage direct.) Jug..on table, bandbox and ballet skirt on table.
1901 ‘L. Malet’ Hist. Richard Calmady i. v. 37 The sustaining power of costume, whether it take the form of ballet-skirt or monk's frock.
2007 South Bend (Indiana) Tribune (Nexis) 14 Jan. b1 Hannah, wearing a pink ballet skirt, practiced her ballerina moves in front of a mirror.
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ballet flat n. = ballerina shoe n. at ballerina n. Compounds (cf. flat n.3 9f(a)).
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1942 New Castle (Pa.) News 27 Nov. 18/1 (advt.) Campus shoe types... Ghillie types, reptile trims, ballet flats, sturdy buckos.
2006 Slimming World Nov.–Dec. 30/1 Ballet flats are very fashionable.
ballet master n. [compare French maître de ballet (1783 or earlier), maître des ballets (1755 or earlier), German Ballettmeister (1768 or earlier as †Balletmeister), Swedish balettmästare (1647)] a man who arranges and directs ballet, or a ballet; (now esp.) an employee of a ballet company who teaches and rehearses dancers.
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society > leisure > dancing > ballet > [noun] > arranger or trainer
ballet master1762
maître de ballet1776
maîtresse de ballet1840
choreograph1876
choreographer1886
1762 G.-A. Gallini Treat. Art of Dancing 122 A good ballet-master must especially have regard to both poetical and picturesque invention.
1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto XIV xxxviii. 134 Danced..Not like a ballet-master in the van Of his drill'd nymphs.
1911 Times 5 Aug. 9/3 Monsieur K, the ballet-master, composes ballets as he walks.
2007 Chicago Sun-Times (Nexis) 4 Nov. 48 He became ballet master of the Milwaukee Ballet in 1981 and was named its artistic director in 1995.
ballet mistress n. a woman who arranges and directs ballet, or a ballet; (also) one who teaches ballet.
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1826 M. R. Mitford Our Village II. iii. 43 The union of twenty plots would not have puzzled our ballet mistress.
1843 W. H. Oxberry Budget of Plays (1844) I. 216/2 Astley's..Ballet Mistress, Miss Cushnie.
1871 Echo 4 Nov. Ballet-mistress at the Grand Opera.
1924 Proc. Musical Assoc. 51 88 The ballet-mistress complains if there is not enough room to dance.
2007 Times (Nexis) 19 Apr. (Career section) 3 She concentrated on perfecting her notation before she began to assist the company's ballet mistress.
ballet pump n. now chiefly British = ballet slipper n.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > footwear > shoe or boot > shoe > [noun] > types of > for specific purpose > for dancing
trippera1847
ballet shoe1858
ballet slipper1880
ballet pump1914
pointe shoe1951
ballerina1952
1914 Portsmouth (Ohio) Daily Times 12 Jan. 3/3 (advt.) Tango and ballet pumps for gentlemen and gentlewomen.
1966 Times 7 July 15/5 The Museum and Library of the Performing Arts (wherein lies a pair of Markova's ballet pumps).
2003 Daily Tel. 23 May 22/1 Flat ballet pumps, low kitten heel sandals or high sling-backs are the perfect accessories.
ballet shoe n. a light, flexible shoe of soft fabric or leather worn by ballet dancers, spec. a ballerina's shoe with a reinforced toe for dancing en pointe, tied by ribbons crossed around the ankle and calf (cf. pointe shoe n. at pointe n. Compounds 2).
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > footwear > shoe or boot > shoe > [noun] > types of > for specific purpose > for dancing
trippera1847
ballet shoe1858
ballet slipper1880
ballet pump1914
pointe shoe1951
ballerina1952
1858 in Chambers's Jrnl. 25 Dec. 414/2 That pile of white-satin ballet-shoes has just come from the shoemaker's.
1867 T. W. Robertson Caste i. 5 (stage direct.) A small table..with ballet-shoe and skirt on it.
1932 Musical Q. 18 471 Espadrilles smartly cross-gartered up their legs like ballet shoes.
2003 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 8 Aug. b32/1 I merely bumbled around the apartment..putting ballet shoes, soccer balls, hair scrunchies and last year's homework in their places.
ballet slipper n. (a) = ballet shoe n.; (b) a light flat-heeled woman's or girl's shoe; = ballerina shoe n. at ballerina n. Compounds.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > footwear > shoe or boot > shoe > [noun] > types of > for specific purpose > for dancing
trippera1847
ballet shoe1858
ballet slipper1880
ballet pump1914
pointe shoe1951
ballerina1952
1880 Burlington (Iowa) Weekly Hawk-eye 9 Dec. These ballet slippers all come from Italy.
1894 Arizona Republican 11 Dec. 6/1 In standing upon the toes the satin is torn and soiled too. A pair of ballet slippers weighs about four ounces, according to the make.
1945 Olean (N.Y.) Times Herald 30 Nov. 14/1 Simple to make these quilted ballet slippers for bedroom or lounging.
1999 Independent (Nexis) 24 Oct. (Features section) 6 He's the hunkiest thing in ballet slippers.
2005 J. Weiner Goodnight Nobody xxvi. 219 Pawing through the mismatched shoes on the shelf of my closet in search of the velvet ballet slippers.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
† balletn.2
Heraldry. Obsolete.
(A representation of) a little ball.
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society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > other heraldic representations > [noun] > balls
pearl1688
ballet1728
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Balls, or Ballets, a frequent Bearing in Coats of Arms, but never so called; but according to their several Colours have several Names.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
balletv.
/ˈbaleɪ/, U.S. /bæˈleɪ/ Chiefly figurative.
transitive. To express through the action of ballet; to move (something) in a ballet. Also intransitive: to dance or move in, or as though in, a ballet.
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1861 H. Mayhew London Labour (new ed.) III. 145/1 He ballets to her, ‘Will you come down here and dance?’... Old man picks up Simpkin, and ballets to him that he's very sorry.
1967 ‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp viii. 163 I looked up; the April zephyrs were balleting the burnt-orange and pale-green Japanese lanterns.
1988 B. Sterling Islands in Net (1989) viii. 249 Tinkertoy chunks of ruptured loading crane balleted through the air.
2004 Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) (Nexis) 5 Jan. Within moments, his wife, Anita, appeared on the screen and with hands balleting through the air, they commenced to chat.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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