'balladize' originates from Modern English, formed by combining 'ballad' and the suffix '-ize', where 'ballad' meant 'a narrative song' and the suffix '-ize' meant 'to make or turn into.'

'ballad' comes from Old French 'ballade' (a dancing song) and Provençal 'balada', ultimately from Latin 'ballare' meaning 'to dance'. English formed the verb 'balladize' by adding the productive suffix '-ize' (via French/Latin from Greek '-izein') to 'ballad'.

Initially, the formation simply meant 'to turn something into a ballad' (a literal musical or poetic conversion); over time it has also acquired the figurative sense of 'to romanticize or sentimentalize' a subject.