"female ballet dancer," 1792, from Italian ballerina, literally "dancing girl," fem. of ballerino "dancer," from ballo "a dance" (see ball (n.2)). The Italian plural form ballerine formerly sometimes was used in English.
ballast
ball-bearing
ball-boy
ball-club
ball-cock
ballerina
ballet
balletomane
ballgame
ballista
ballistic