Balladine

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A woman who performs or composes ballads, especially traditional narrative songs
2. A female singer or poet who specializes in ballads and their storytelling
3. A woman known for singing or creating ballads as a form of artistic expression

Etymology: "Balladine" is a rare borrowing from French "balladine," the feminine form of "baladin," a word for a dancer or street performer, ultimately tied to the Italian "ballerino" and the Provençal "balada," a dance. The French term carries a sense of a performer who dances and sings in public, the kind of entertainer found at fairs and in market squares. English took the word over whole from French, keeping its feminine ending. The "-ine" ending is the form the French used to mark a female performer, so the word names a woman in the role rather than a general dancer. Its use in English has stayed rare, mostly in writing that wants to evoke a French or theatrical setting.