A large inflated bag or envelope made of fabric, used in hot air balloons or as a decorative object.
From French ballon, which came from Italian ballone, a large ball. The word originally meant 'ball' before it became associated with inflatable aircraft.
The word balloon originally just meant 'big ball'—it wasn't until the Montgolfier brothers invented hot air balloons in the 1780s that people started using 'ballon' and later 'balloon' for these flying envelopes!
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