Jim, what Funk and Wagnall leave out is that a folk ballad is in transition. Academicians don't like this because it upsets their social order. It has to be pinned down like a collected butterfly.

"This is the start of a six page definition from Funk and Wagnall's Standard Dictionary of Folklore - fairly comprehensive, but doesn't suit everybody, especially those who don't hold withnew-fangled gadgets like dictionarie"