Meaning

noun large tough nonrigid bag filled with gas or heated air

noun small thin inflatable rubber bag with narrow neck

verb ride in a hot-air balloon

originFirst use appears c. 1591, "a game played with a large, inflated leather ball" (possibly via Middle French ballon) from Italian pallone (“large ball”) from palla (“ball”), from Lombardic *palla. The Northern Italian form, balla (“ball-shaped bundle”), today a doublet, likely derived from Old French balle, from Frankish *balla (“ball”), and may have influenced the spelling of this word. Both…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0