'balletomane' originates from French, specifically the word 'balletomane', where 'ballet' meant 'dance' and the suffix '-mane' (from Greek 'mania') meant 'madness' or 'enthusiast'.

'balletomane' entered English from French 'balletomane' in the late 19th century and was adopted with its sense of a passionate admirer of ballet.

Initially, it meant 'a person with an excessive enthusiasm for ballet', and over time it has retained that basic meaning as 'a devoted admirer of ballet'.