YMCA

Young Men's Christian Association
w:Young Men's Christian Association

Initialism of Young Men's Christian Association.


robot

From German Robot, from a West Slavonic language, ultimately related to Etymology 2, below.

“I say again, down with the robot!—he is a dog who yields it!”

1849, Littell's Living Age, volume 23, page 309:

Although the robot varied from region to region, it was rarely less than burdensome.

2007, Tim Blanning, The Pursuit of Glory, Penguin, published 2008, page 159:

(now historical) A system of serfdom used in Central Europe, under which a tenant's rent was paid in forced labour.


robot

desc

→ Arabic: رُوبُوت (rūbūt), رُوبُوط (rūbūṭ)

→ Hindi: रोबोट (roboṭ)

→ Japanese: ロボット (robotto)

→ Korean: 로봇 (robot)

→ Persian: رُبات (robât), روبات (rôbât)

→ Swahili: roboti

→ Welsh: robot

Internet Archive
Josef Čapek
Karel Čapek
R.U.R.

Borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”). Coined in the 1920 science-fiction play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Čapek after having been suggested to him by his brother Josef, and taken into English without change.

(South Africa) A traffic light (from earlier robot policeman).

(dance) A style of dance popular in disco in which the dancer imitates the stiff movements of a stereotypical android robot.


absolute

en-adj

absolute (comparative more absolute or absoluter, superlative most absolute or absolutest)

more absolute (comparative)
absoluter (comparative)
most absolute (superlative)
absolutest (superlative)

conditional

antonym(s) of “free of restrictions, limitations, qualifications or conditions”

antonym(s) of “independent of references

First attested around 1380. From Middle English absolut, from Middle French absolut, from Latin absolūtus (“unconditional; unfettered; completed”), perfect passive participle of absolvō (“loosen, set free, complete”), from ab (“away”) + solvo (“to loose”). Influenced in part by Old French absolu. Compare absolve.

независим

grammar: not immediately dependent on the other parts of the sentence

categorical

absolute music

(art, music, dance) Independent of (references to) other arts; expressing things (beauty, ideas, etc) only in one art.


abstract

en-adj

abstract (comparative more abstract or abstracter, superlative most abstract or abstractest)

more abstract (comparative)
abstracter (comparative)
most abstract (superlative)
abstractest (superlative)

From Middle English abstract, borrowed from Latin abstractus, perfect passive participle of abstrahō (“draw away”), formed from abs- (“away”) + trahō (“to pull, draw”). The verbal sense is first attested in 1542.

(art) Pertaining to the formal aspect of art, such as the lines, colors, shapes, and the relationships among them.


star

Sranan Tongo: stari
Aukan: sitali

→ Finnish: stara

→ French: star

→ German: Star

→ Italian: star

→ Swahili: staa

From Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra (“star”), from Proto-West Germanic *sterrō, variant of *sternō, from Proto-Germanic *sternô, *sternǭ (“star”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (“star”). Doublet of aster, stella, étoile, and estoile.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots starn, ster, North Frisian steer, West Frisian stjer, Saterland Frisian Stiern, Dutch ster, Luxembourgish Stär, German Stern, Yiddish שטערן (shtern), Vilamovian śtaom, Swedish stjärna, Norwegian stjerne, Icelandic stjarna, Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐍉 (stairnō), Spanish estrella, Portuguese estrela, Italian stella, Romanian stea, Occitan estela, Venetian stéła, Sicilian stidda, Sardinian isteddu, Mirandese streilha, Walloon sitoele, Romansch staila, Megleno-Romanian steau̯ă, Istriot stila, Istro-Romanian ste, Latin stēlla, Greek αστέρι (astéri), Ancient Greek ἀστήρ (astḗr), Old Armenian աստղ (astł), Persian ستاره (setâre), Tajik ситора (sitora), Pashto ستوری (storay), Mazanderani اساره (ëssâre), Northern Kurdish stêr, Central Kurdish ئەستێرە (estêre), Zazaki astare, Ossetian стъалы (st’aly), Hindi तारा (tārā), Urdu تارا (tārā), Punjabi ਤਾਰਾ (tārā), Gujarati તારો (tāro), Sanskrit तारा (tārā).

аеҵǝа

a celestial body appearing as a point of light on the clear night sky, whose position is relatively fixed with respect to each other

A simple dance, or part of a dance, where a group of four dancers each put their right or left hand in the middle and turn around in a circle. You call them right-hand stars or left-hand stars, depending on the hand which is in the middle.


belly dance

en-noun

belly dance (countable and uncountable, plural belly dances)

Calque of French danse du ventre, equivalent to belly + dance. First attested in English in 1889, in an article about that year's Exposition Universelle in Paris in the November 22 edition of the Yorkshire Factory Times: "A café in the Rue du Caire attracted 2,000 spectators daily to see the ‘belly dance’, and realised a total of 400,000 francs." Early sources also used the French term danse du ventre as-is.

A form of dance originating in the Middle East and characterized by movements of the torso.


toe

toe (countable and uncountable, plural toes)

heel

antonym(s) of “each of the five digits on the end of the foot”

From Middle English to, from Old English tā, (Mercian) tāhe, from Proto-Germanic *taihwǭ (compare Dutch teen, German Zehe, Danish tå, Swedish tå), from *tīhwaną (“to show, announce”) (compare Old English teōn (“to accuse”), German zeihen (“to accuse, blame”)), from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show”) (compare Hittite [script needed] (tekkuššāi), Latin dīcere (“to say”), digitus (“finger”), Ancient Greek δείκνυμι (deíknumi, “to point out, show”), Sanskrit दिदेष्टि (dídeṣṭi), दिशति (diśáti)).

cog

(dance, uncountable) An advanced form of ballet primarily performed by women, wearing pointe shoes.


DC

(dance) Initialism of diagonally to the center.


helicopter

→ Amharic: ሄሊኮፕተር (helikoptär)

→ Cebuano: helikopter

→ Malay: helikopter

→ Tagalog: helikopter

Borrowed from French hélicoptère, from Ancient Greek ἕλιξ (hélix, “spiral”) + πτερόν (pterón, “wing”). Doublet of helicopteron. By surface analysis, helico- + -pter. The dragonfly sense is from a dragonfly's ability to hover and fly in any direction, like the flying machine.

af

(dance) A breakdance move in which the dancer spins on the floor while extending the legs to resemble the blades of a helicopter.


turtle

Modification of Middle English tortou, tortu, from Old French tortüe (under the influence of Middle English turtel, turtur (“turtledove”), see Etymology 2 below), from Medieval Latin tortuca (compare Spanish tortuga), the same source of tortoise (see there for more). Displaced native Old English byrdling.

(dance) A breakdancing move consisting of a float during which the dancer's weight shifts from one hand to the other, producing rotation or a circular "walk".


salsa

en-noun

salsa (countable and uncountable, plural salsas)

→ Mongolian: салса (salsa)

Borrowed from Spanish salsa (“sauce”), from Latin salsus (“salted”), whence also the doublet sauce (via Old French).

(countable, dance) Any of several dances performed to salsa music.


phrase

From Late Latin phrasis (“diction”), from Ancient Greek φράσις (phrásis, “manner of expression”), from φράζω (phrázō, “I tell, express”).

der

(dance) A short individual motion forming part of a choreographed dance.


canary

en-noun

canary (countable and uncountable, plural canaries)

From French canarie, from Spanish canario, from the Latin Canariae insulae (“Canary Islands”) (Spanish Islas Canarias); from the largest island Insula Canaria (“Dog Island" or "Canine Island”), named for its dogs, from canārius (“canine”), from canis (“dog”).

der

(computing) A change that is tested by being rolled out first to a subset of machines or users before rolling out to all.

In an other corner, Mistris Minx, a marchants wife, that will eate no cherries, forsooth, but when they are at twentie shillings a pound, that lookes as simperingly as if she were besmeard, and iets it as gingerly as if she were dancing the canaries, […]

1592, Thomas Nash[e], Pierce Penilesse His Supplication to the Deuill. […], London: […] [John Charlewood for] Richard Ihones, […], →OCLC:

[…] I haue ſeen a medicine / That's able to breath life into a ſtone, / Quicken a rocke, and make you dance Canari / With ſprightly fire and motion, […]

c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 235, column 2:

A lively dance, possibly of Spanish origin (also called canaries).


jerk

Probably from Middle English yerk (“sudden motion”) and Middle English yerkid (“tightly pulled”), from Old English ġearc (“ready, active, quick”) and Old English ġearcian (“to prepare, make ready, procure, furnish, supply”). Cognate with Scots yerk (“to jerk”). Related also to English yare (“ready”).

inh

Because oral sex deprecation and anti-gay bias both have long histories among humans

many of the words for "contemptible person" come from literal terms for anyone who performs oral sex or performs anal sex; see overlap at Thesaurus:gay man

Girls, hey, what's that you're doing
Girl, girl, what's that you're doing
You got to show me the steps to it
Somehow, gonna learn how to do it
Doing the jerk
Hey, do the jerk
Girl, come on and work
Hey, do the jerk.

1964, “The Jerk”, Don Julian (lyrics), performed by The Larks:

(preceded by definite article) A dance, popular in Western culture in the 1960s, in which the head and upper body is thrown forwards regularly to the beat of the music.


hay

From Middle English haye, heye, a conflation of Old English heġe (“hedge, fence”) and Old English ġehæġ (“an enclosed piece of land”).

My men like Satyres grazing on the lawnes,
Shall with their Goate feete daunce an antick hay,

1594, Christopher Marlow[e], The Troublesome Raigne and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England: […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press] for Henry Bell, […], published 1622, →OCLC, (please specify the page):

I’ll make one in a dance, or so; or I will play
On the tabour to the Worthies, and let them dance the hay.

c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:


fling

From Middle English fling, from the verb (see below). Compare Icelandic flengur (“a fast sprint”).

the Highland fling


shake

en-verb

shake (third-person singular simple present shakes, present participle shaking, simple past shook or (rare) shaked or (slang) shooketh, past participle shaken or (dialectal) shook)

shakes (present singular third-person)
shaking (participle present)
shook (past)
shaked (past rare)
shooketh (past slang)
shaken (participle past)
shook (dialectal participle past)

From Middle English schaken, from Old English sċeacan, sċacan (“to shake”), from Proto-West Germanic *skakan, from Proto-Germanic *skakaną (“to shake, swing, escape”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keg-, *(s)kek- (“to jump, move”).
Cognate with Scots schake, schack (“to shake”), West Frisian schaekje (“to shake”), Dutch schaken (“to elope, make clean, shake”), Low German schaken (“to move, shift, push, shake”) and schacken (“to shake, shock”), Old Norse skaka (“to shaka”), Norwegian Nynorsk skaka (“to shake”), Swedish skaka (“to shake”), Danish skage (“to shake”), Dutch schokken (“to shake, shock”), Russian скака́ть (skakátʹ, “to jump”). More at shock.

cog

She was shaking it on the dance floor.


wine

en-verb

wine (third-person singular simple present wines, present participle wining, simple past and past participle wined)

wines (present singular third-person)
wining (participle present)
wined (participle past)
wined (past)

From Jamaican Creole [Term?], related to wind (verb).

Even when there are positive comments, as in the responses to “white boy wines to dancehall,” the origin of the white boy's ability to dance is attributed to skills derived from others: […].

2010, Andoni Alonso, Pedro Oiarzabal, editors, Diasporas in the New Media Age: Identity, Politics, and Community, University of Nevada Press, →ISBN:

(dance, intransitive) To perform a Jamaican dance, such as the Dutty Wine.


slide

→ Czech: slajd

→ Japanese: スライド (suraido)

→ Persian: اسلاید (eslâyd)

→ Polish: slajd

→ Portuguese: slide

From Middle English sliden, from Old English slīdan (“to slide”), from Proto-West Germanic *slīdan, from Proto-Germanic *slīdaną (“to slide, glide”), from Proto-Indo-European *sléydʰ-e-ti, from *sleydʰ- (“slippery”). Cognate with Old High German slītan (“to slide”) (whence German schlittern), Middle Low German slīden (“to slide”), Middle Dutch slīden (“to slide”) (whence Dutch slijderen, frequentative of now obsolete slijden), Vedic Sanskrit स्रेधति (srédhati, “to err, blunder”).

cog

(traditional Irish music and dance) A lively dance from County Kerry, in 12/8 time.


split

→ Irish: spliota

Attested since about 1567, from Middle Dutch splitten (“to split”) and/or Middle Low German splitten (“to split”), both ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *splittjan, an intensive form of Proto-West Germanic *splītan (“to split”), from Proto-Germanic *splītaną (whence Danish splitte, Low German splieten, German spleißen), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pley- (“to split, splice”).
Compare Middle English ysplett (“split”, past participle of splatten (“to split”)), Old English speld (“splinter”), Old High German spaltan (“to split”), Old Irish sliss (“splinter”), Lithuanian spaliai (“flax sheaves”), Czech půl (“half”), Old Church Slavonic рас-плитати (ras-plitati, “to cleave, split”).

cog

past participle of <i class="Latn mention" lang="enm">splatten</i> (“to split”)

let the door hit you where the good Lord split you

(gymnastics, cheerleading, dance, usually in the phrase "to do the splits") A maneuver of spreading or sliding the feet apart until the legs are flat on the floor 180 degrees apart, either sideways to the body or with one leg in front and one behind, thus lowering the body completely to the floor in an upright position.


swim

From Middle English swymmen, from Old English swimman (“to swim, float”) (class III strong verb; past tense swamm, past participle geswummen), from Proto-West Germanic *swimman, from Proto-Germanic *swimmaną (“to swoon, lose consciousness, swim”), from Proto-Indo-European *swem(bʰ)- (“to be unsteady, move, swim”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots sweem, soom (“to swim”), Saterland Frisian swimme (“to swim”), West Frisian swimme (“to swim, float”), Dutch zwemmen (“to swim”), German schwimmen (“to swim”), Norwegian Bokmål and Danish svømme (“to swim”), Swedish simma (“to swim”), Norwegian Nynorsk symja (“to swim”).

der

C'mon everybody! C'mon in!
Bobby's goin' to show you how to do the swim.

1964, “C'mon And Swim”, Thomas Coman and Sylvester Stewart (Sly Stone) (lyrics), performed by Bobby Freeman:

A dance or dance move of the 1960s in which the arms are moved in imitation of various swimming strokes, such as freestyle, breaststroke, etc.


balance

en-verb

balance (third-person singular simple present balances, present participle balancing, simple past and past participle balanced)

balances (present singular third-person)
balancing (participle present)
balanced (participle past)
balanced (past)
balance (infinitive)

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Middle English balaunce, from Old French balance, from Late Latin *bilancia, from (accusative form of) Latin bilanx (“two-scaled”), from bi- + lanx (“plate, scale”).

to balance partners

(transitive, dance) To move toward, and then back from, reciprocally.


float

float (third-person singular simple present floats, present participle floating, simple past and past participle floated)

floats (present singular third-person)
floating (participle present)
floated (participle past)
floated (past)

From Middle English floten, from Old English flotian (“to float”), from Proto-West Germanic *flotōn, from Proto-Germanic *flutōną (“to float”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewd-, *plew- (“to float, swim, fly”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian flotje (“to float”), West Frisian flotsje (“to float”), Dutch vlotten (“to float”), Middle Low German vloten, vlotten (“to float, swim”), German flötzen, flößen (“to float”), Swedish flotta (“to float”), Icelandic fljóta, Old English flēotan (“to float, swim”), Ancient Greek πλέω (pléō), Lithuanian plaukti, Russian пла́вать (plávatʹ). Compare flow, fleet.

ভাসানো

to cause something to be suspended in a liquid of greater density

(intransitive, aviation) To remain airborne, without touching down, for an excessive length of time during landing, due to excessive airspeed during the landing flare.

leijua

aviation: to remain airborne for an excessive length of time during landing


float

sierwa

trailer or vehicle decorated for a parade


base

en-noun

base (countable and uncountable, plural bases)

acid

antonym(s) of “chemical compound that will neutralize an alkali”

From Middle English base, bas, baas, from Old French base, from Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις (básis). Doublet of basis and bass.

أَسَاس

something from which other things extend

(acrobatics, cheerleading) In hand-to-hand balance, the person who supports the flyer; the person that remains in contact with the ground.

alamies

acrobatics, cheerleading: person who supports the flyer


base

en-verb

base (third-person singular simple present bases, present participle basing, simple past and past participle based)

bases (present singular third-person)
basing (participle present)
based (participle past)
based (past)

Apart from time taken out during radio- and chemotherapy, Maurs continued to participate in POW. She would base a flyer in a double balance and make the audience laugh with her clowning antics for two more shows.

2005, John T. Warren, Laura B. Lengel, Casting Gender: Women and Performance in Intercultural Context, →ISBN, page 73:

(acrobatics, cheerleading) To act as a base; to be the person supporting the flyer.


fly

From Middle English flye (“flying, flight”), from Old English flyge (“flying, flight”), from Proto-Germanic *flugiz.

дюкян

strip that hides the opening of trousers/pants or underpants

Edward H[enry] Knight
w:Edward H. Knight

In a knitting machine, the piece hinged to the needle, which holds the engaged loop in position while the needle is penetrating another loop; a latch.


set

From Middle English set, sete, sette (“that which is set, the act of setting, seat”), from Old English set (“setting, seat, a place where people remain, habitation, camp, entrenchment, a place where animals are kept, stall, fold”) and Old English seten (“a set, shoot, slip, branch; a nursery, plantation; that which is planted or set; a cultivated place; planting, cultivation; a setting, putting; a stopping; occupied land”), related to Old English settan (“to set”). Compare Middle Low German gesette (“a set, suite”), Old English gesetl (“assembly”). According to Skeat, in senses denoting a group of things or persons, representing an alteration of sept, from Old French sette (“a religious sect”), from Medieval Latin secta (“retinue”), from Latin secta (“a faction”). See sect. It is quite possible that the modern word is more of a merger between both, however.

cog

(dance) The initial or basic formation of dancers.

opstilling

dancing: initial or basic formation of dancers


chicken

en-adj

chicken (comparative more chicken, superlative most chicken)

more chicken (comparative)
most chicken (superlative)

From Middle English chiken (also as chike > English chick), from Old English ċicen, ċycen (“chicken”), of uncertain origin. Possibly from Proto-West Germanic *kiukīn (“chicken”), or alternatively from Proto-West Germanic *kukkīn, equivalent to cock + -en.
Compare North Frisian schückling (“chicken”), Saterland Frisian Sjuuken (“chicken”), Dutch kuiken (“chick, chicken”), German Low German Küken (“chick”), whence German Küken (“chick”), (elevated, obsolete) German Küchlein (“chick”) and Old Norse kjúklingr (“chicken”).

Why do you refuse to fight? Huh, I guess you're just too chicken.


lift

en-noun

lift (countable and uncountable, plural lifts)

→ Cantonese: 𨋢／䢂 (lip¹)

→ Dutch: lift
→ Papiamentu: left

→ Malay: lif

desctree

→ Russian: лифт (lift)
→ Armenian: լիֆտ (lift)
→ Georgian: ლიფტი (lipṭi)
→ Kazakh: лифт (lift)
→ Mongolian: лифт (lift)
→ Uyghur: لىفت (lift)
→ Uzbek: lift
→ Yakut: лифт (lift)

→ Swahili: lifti

→ Swedish: lift

From Middle English liften, lyften, from Old Norse lypta (“to lift, air”, literally “to raise in the air”), from Proto-Germanic *luftijaną (“to raise in the air”), related to *luftuz (“roof, air”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *lewp- (“to peel, break off, damage”) or from a root meaning roof (see *luftuz). Cognate with Danish and Norwegian Bokmål løfte (“to lift”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish lyfta (“to lift”), German lüften (“to air, lift”), Old English lyft (“air”). See above. 1851 for the noun sense "a mechanical device for vertical transport".
(To steal): For this sense Cleasby suggests perhaps a relation to the root of Gothic 𐌷𐌻𐌹𐍆𐍄𐌿𐍃 (hliftus) "thief", cognate with Latin cleptus and Greek κλέπτω (kléptō)).

der

(dance) The lifting of a dance partner into the air.

nosto

dance: lifting of a dance partner into the air


dump

From Middle English dumpen, dompen, probably from Old Norse dumpa (“to thump”) (whence Danish dumpe (“to fall suddenly”)), of uncertain origin, possibly imitative of falling, similar to thump.

onomatopoeic

imitative

They see not what passes before their eyes; hear not the audible discourse of the company; and when by any strong application to them they are roused a little, they are like men brought to themselves from some remote region […]. The shame that such dumps cause to well-bred people, when it carries them away from the company, where they should bear a part of the conversation, is a sufficient argument that it is a fault in the conduct of our understanding, not to have that power over it as to make use of it to those purposes, and on those occasions, wherein we have need of its assistance.

a. 1705, John Locke, “Of the Conduct of the Understanding”, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke: […], London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], published 1706, →OCLC, § 45, page 125:

The back of this display is constructed of a double row of cans which are interlocking. The double row is significant because it provides a source of stock to replenish the dump which will be located in the base of the stand.

1958, Milton Alexander, Display ideas for super markets, page 211:

Mass displays to move goods in bulk are dotted here and there throughout the store, particularly at the ends of the gondolas, and considerable use is made of dump displays.

1959, Agenda: Co-operative Management Magazine - Volumes 7-8, page 68:

Although they may have a lot of clutter in promotional cardboard dump displays, that factor is likely to change.

1985, Product Marketing for Beauty Industry Retailers & Manufacturers:

I remember that Bill made a little cardboard dump, with boots and a whip, for the bookstore displays, and the people in the chain stores were so outraged by this dump they threw it in the trash.

1996, Anne Rice, Michael Riley, Interview with Anne Rice, page 76:

(marketing) A temporary display case that holds many copies of an item being sold.


dump

en-verb

dump (third-person singular simple present dumps, present participle dumping, simple past and past participle dumped)

dumps (present singular third-person)
dumping (participle present)
dumped (participle past)
dumped (past)

→ French: domper

onomatopoeic

imitative

Blowing like a grampus from every orifice, I leaned on a passing wave which dumped me[.]

1980, Ian Chappell, Chappelli has the last laugh, page 39:

(transitive, Australia) Of a surf wave, to crash a swimmer, surfer, etc., heavily downwards.


ballroom

en-verb

ballroom (third-person singular simple present ballrooms, present participle ballrooming, simple past and past participle ballroomed)

ballrooms (present singular third-person)
ballrooming (participle present)
ballroomed (participle past)
ballroomed (past)

(intransitive) To take part in ballroom dancing.


dancer

→ Japanese: ダンサー (dansā)

From Middle English dauncer, dawncere, dancere, equivalent to dance + -er.

I'm a terrible dancer.

(dance) A person who dances, usually as a hobby, an occupation, or a profession.

dancanto dancisto virdancisto m dancistino


pop

pop (third-person singular simple present pops, present participle popping, simple past and past participle popped)

pops (present singular third-person)
popping (participle present)
popped (participle past)
popped (past)

From Middle English pop, poppe (“a blow; strike; buffet”) (> Middle English poppen (“to strike; thrust”, verb)), of onomatopoeic origin – used to describe the sound, or short, sharp actions. The physics sense is part of a facetious sequence "snap, crackle, pop", after the mascots of Rice Krispies cereal.

cog

Let the poppers pop and the breakers break / We're cool, cool cats, it's like that

1985, “King of Rock”, performed by Run-DMC:

(dance) To perform the popping style of dance.


turnout

en-noun

turnout (countable and uncountable, plural turnouts)

(ballet) Rotation of the leg at the hips which causes the feet and knees to turn outward, away from the front of the body.


tap

tap (countable and uncountable, plural taps)

The verb is derived from Middle English tappen, teppen (“to give (something) a knock or tap; to hit (something) lightly, pat, tap”), either:
* imitative of the making of a tapping sound; or
* from Old French tapper, taper (“to tap”) (modern French taper), from Frankish *tappōn, *dabbōn (“to strike”), or from Middle Low German tappen, tapen (“to rap, strike, tap”), both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dab- (“to strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰebʰ- (“to beat, strike; to stun; to be speechless”). Doublet of dab.
Verb sense 1.1.1 (“to arrest (someone)”) and sense 1.6 (“to choose or designate (someone) for a duty, etc.”) allude to a police officer or other person tapping someone on their shoulder to catch their attention or to select them.
The noun is derived from Middle English tap, tappe (“light blow or hit”), and then either:
* from Middle English tappen (verb) (see above); or
* from Old French tape (“light slap or touch, pat”) (modern French tape), from tapper, taper (verb) (see above).
cognates
* German tappen (“to fumble; to grope”)
* Icelandic tappa, tapsa, tæpta (“to tap”)

der

(dance) One of the metal pieces attached to the sole of a tap dancer's shoe at the toe and heel to cause a tapping sound.

rauta

one of the metal pieces attached to the sole of a tap dancer’s shoe at the toe and heel to cause a tapping sound

Now, until you get to wearing block shoes, the same sandals do for everything except tap, and the world doesn't come to an end if you just wear your tunic knickers and a shirt for tap; but when we could get the stuff there was all that changing into rompers, and we'd special satin sandals for ballet. It was change, change, all the time.

1944, Noel Streatfeild, “Cousins”, in Curtain Up (Pennant Books), London: J[oseph] M[alaby] Dent & Sons, published 1964, →OCLC, page 97:

As successful commercially as it was critically, Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk established Savion Glover as the new tap superstar.

2000, Ian Driver, “Sight and Sound: Tap Dancing”, in A Century of Dance, London: Hamlyn, →ISBN, page 116, column 1:

I had one advantage: I can keep time pretty well, especially to jazz, which effectively is all tap is. I can beat out a rhythm to any tune.

2009 February 21, Patrick Kidd, “Out of the ordinary: Tap dancing”, in The Times, London: News UK, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-11-27:

In this iconic staircase number [The Little Colonel], Bill "Bojangles" Robinson tutors Shirley Temple in the art of tap.

2014 March 25, Samantha Grossman, “The 10 Best Tap Dance Scenes in Film”, in Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-12-15:

(uncountable, dance) Ellipsis of tap dance.


lock

Tok Pisin: lok

→ Hawaiian: laka

From Middle English lok, from Old English loc, from Proto-West Germanic *lok, from Proto-Germanic *luką from Proto-Indo-European *lewg- (“to bend; turn”). The verb is from Middle English locken, lokken, louken, from Old English lūcan, Proto-West Germanic *lūkan, from Proto-Germanic *lūkaną. Related to luxe via Latin.


monkey

en-noun

monkey (plural monkeys or (obsolete) monkies)

monkeys (plural)
monkies (obsolete plural)

→ Chukchi: маӈкы (maṇky)

→ Coeur d'Alene: moonki

→ Irish: moncaí

→ Navajo: mágí

→ Scottish Gaelic: muncaidh

→ Tumbuka: munkhwele

→ Welsh: mwnci

Uncertain. May be derived from monk + -ey (diminutive suffix), or borrowed from Middle Low German Moneke, the name of the son of Martin the Ape in Reynard the Fox (which may represent an unattested colloquial Middle Low German *moneke, *moneken), itself of uncertain origin. Possibly derived from a Romance term represented by Late Middle French monne (whence Modern French mone (“monkey”)) or earlier Old French monnekin (“monkey”), originally Monnekin, the name of a monkey in Li Dis d'Entendement. Compare also Old French and Middle French monin (“monkey”). The French terms may have been borrowed from Italian monna (“monkey”), from Old Spanish mona (“female monkey”), itself a shortening of mamona, variant of maimón, from Arabic مَيْمُون (maymūn, “baboon”)). However, Old French monnekin may alternatively be unrelated to the other terms, instead being a borrowing of Early Middle Dutch mannekin (a diminutive of a personal name or surname; hence, nickname, literally “miniature man”).

gl

whence Modern French <i class="Latn mention" lang="fr">mone</i> (“monkey”)

der

cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey

you can take the monkey out of the jungle, but you can't take the jungle out of the monkey

No, no, no, not you. I want to talk to the organ grinder, not the monkey.

dancing to another's tune
dance to someone's tune

(figurative, generally derogatory) A human considered to resemble monkeys in some way, including:

(slang, derogatory) Synonym of puppet: a person dancing to another's tune, a person controlled or directed by another.

puppet

A thousandth of a million squid or two monkeys
Or a whole fifty scores

2004, The Streets (lyrics and music), “It Was Supposed to Be So Easy”, in A Grand Don’t Come for Free:

(slang) Synonym of five hundred, especially (British) 500 pounds sterling or (US, dated) 500 dollars.

five hundred

Do the Monkey, yeah,
Do the Monkey, yeah,
Ah, twist them hips,
Let your backbone slip,
Now move your feet,
Get on the beat...

1963, Curtis Mayfield, "The Monkey Time" (video)

C'mon everybody! C'mon in!
Bobby's goin' to show you how to do the swim.
Kinda like the monkey, kinda like the twist
Pretend you're in the water and you go like this.

Do the monkey, do the pony / Do the slop, do the boogaloo twist.

1971, “Suicide Song”, in Loudon Wainwright III (lyrics), Album II, performed by Loudon Wainwright III:

...Used to the do the monkey
But now it's not cool...

(dance) A dance popularized by Major Lance in 1963, now usually only its upper-body dance move involving exaggerated drumming motions.


buck

From Middle English bukke, bucke, buc, from Old English buc, bucc, bucca (“he-goat, stag”), from Proto-West Germanic *bukk, *bukkō, from Proto-Germanic *bukkaz, *bukkô (“buck”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuǵ- (“ram”). Doublet of puck (billy goat).
Currency-related senses hail from American English, a clipping of buckskin as a unit of trade among Indians and Europeans in frontier days (attested from 1748).
The idea of rigidly standing implements is instilled by Dutch bok (“sawhorse”) as in zaagbok (“sawbuck”).
The sense of an object indicating someone’s turn then occurred in American English, possibly originating from the game poker, where a knife (typically with a hilt made from a stag horn) was used as a place-marker to signify whose turn it was to deal. The place-marker was commonly referred to as a buck, which reinforced the term “pass the buck” used in poker, and eventually a silver dollar was used in place of a knife, which also led to a dollar being referred to as a buck.

(African-American Vernacular, dated, dance) Synonym of buck dance.


spot

→ Catalan: espot

From Middle English spot, spotte, partially from Middle Dutch spotte (“spot, speck”), and partially merging with Middle English splot, from Old English splott (“spot, plot of land”), from Proto-West Germanic *splott, from Proto-Germanic *spluttaz (“segment”), from Proto-Indo-European *splt-no- (“an off-split, segment”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to split”). Cognate with North Frisian spot (“speck, piece of ground”), Low German spot (“speck”), Old Norse spotti (“small piece”). See also splot, splotch.

cog

(gymnastics, dance, weightlifting) One who spots (supports or assists a maneuver, or is prepared to assist if safety dictates); a spotter.


spot

en-verb

spot (third-person singular simple present spots, present participle spotting, simple past and past participle spotted)

spots (present singular third-person)
spotting (participle present)
spotted (participle past)
spotted (past)

I can’t do a back handspring unless somebody spots me.

There had not been time to build handrails, so lines of women spotted the sides of the ramp.

1989 April 15, Angela Bowen, “Towards a National Lesbian Conference”, in Gay Community News, page 2:

(transitive, gymnastics, dance, weightlifting, climbing) To support or assist a maneuver, or to be prepared to assist if safety dictates.

Most figure skaters do not spot their turns like dancers do.

(transitive, dance) To keep the head and eyes pointing in a single direction while turning.


worm

From Middle English worm, werm, wurm, wirm, from Old English wyrm (“worm, snake”), from Proto-Germanic *wurmiz, from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis, possibly from *wer- (“to turn”). Doublet of vermin and wyrm, the latter of which is a fairly recent borrowing directly from the Old English.
(computing): First computer usage by John Brunner in his 1975 book The Shockwave Rider.
cognates
Germanic cognates include Dutch worm, West Frisian wjirm, German Wurm, Swedish orm (“snake”), Norwegian Nynorsk orm (“earthworm or snake”), Danish orm and Yiddish וואָרעם (vorem).
Indo-European cognates include Latin vermis (“worm”), Lithuanian var̃mas (“insect, midge”), Albanian rrime (“rainworm”), Ancient Greek ῥόμος (rhómos, “woodworm”).

шнек

something helical, especially the thread of a screw

(preceded by definite article) A dance, or dance move, in which the dancer lies on the floor and undulates the body horizontally thereby moving forwards.


flamenco

en-noun

flamenco (countable and uncountable, plural flamencos)

/fləˈmɛŋkəʊ/

From Spanish flamenco, from Middle Dutch vlaminc (“Fleming”) (> Dutch Vlaming).

La Niña was so goddam terrific that after a month of singing with the vocal trio, she was singing solo and she was dancing a flamenco better'n a gypsy fireball!

1977, Tennessee Williams, Vieux Carré, I.3:

(countable) A song or dance performed in such a style.


pedestrian

en-adj

pedestrian (comparative more pedestrian, superlative most pedestrian)

more pedestrian (comparative)
most pedestrian (superlative)

Borrowed from Latin pedester, root pedestri- (from pedes) + -an (suffix forming adjectives).

The choreographer prefers pedestrian movements.

(dance) Pertaining to ordinary, everyday movements incorporated in postmodern dance.


quickstep

Miss Esler and Mr. McMorrow went to Kalgoorlie to adjudicate at the goldfields waltz and quickstep championships, and found the standard of dancing surprisingly high.

1938 October 26, The Daily News, Perth, page 11, column 5:

A fast foxtrot noted for its complex and intricate footwork.


square dance

en-noun

square dance (countable and uncountable, plural square dances)

Square dance is America's folk dance.


adagio

/əˈdɑːd͡ʒiəʊ/

/əˈdæd͡ʒiəʊ/

(dance) A male-female duet or mixed trio ballet displaying demanding balance, spins and/or lifts.


dab

en-verb

dab (third-person singular simple present dabs, present participle dabbing, simple past and past participle dabbed)

dabs (present singular third-person)
dabbing (participle present)
dabbed (participle past)
dabbed (past)

From Middle English dabben (“to strike”), probably of North Germanic origin, related to Old Icelandic dabba (“to tap, slap”), perhaps ultimately imitative. Compare also with Middle Dutch dabben (“to pinch, knead, fumble, dabble”) (Dutch dabben (“(of a horse) to stamp with the forelegs”)), Dutch deppen (“to dab”), possibly German tappen (“to fumble, grope”).
The noun is from Middle English dabbe (“a strike, blow”), from the verb. Related to tap. Compare also drub, dub.
African-American sense of “playful box” perhaps influenced by dap (“fistbump”).

onomatopoeic

imitative

cog

Look, my brothas don't dab, we just vossi bop

(dance, intransitive) To perform the dab dance move, by moving both arms to one side of the body parallel with your head.


dab

Irish: daba

onomatopoeic

imitative

(dance) A hip hop dance move in which the dancer simultaneously drops the head while raising an arm, briefly resting their face in the elbow, as if sneezing into their elbow.


evolution

en-noun

evolution (countable and uncountable, plural evolutions)

extinction

antonym(s) of “survival through adaptation”

/ɛvəˈlʉːʃən/

Borrowed from Latin ēvolūtiō, ēvolūtiōnis (“the act of unrolling, unfolding or opening (of a book)”), from ēvolūtus, perfect passive participle of ēvolvō (“unroll, unfold”), from ex + volvō (“roll”).

تَطَوُّر

general: a gradual process of development

Our necromancer […] taking up his wand, waved it around his head in a very mysterious motion, with a view of intimidating these forward visitants, who, far from being awed by this sort of evolution, became more and more obstreperous […].

1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:

It was a critical instant: the pirouette -- it would fail, she feared. … the rapid whirl achieved in exact time, the whole evolution executed to perfection.

1869, anonymous author, Miss Langley's Will:

… as he beheld the tenfold pirouette of a lovely girl, which presented to the public eye the whole of her form and figure; … to praise the dexterity and ease with which the unfortunate and degraded creature had performed the ungraceful evolution, the only merit of which, is the gross exposition of person, at which modesty shudders […]

1825, Theodore Edward Hook, Sayings and Doings: Passion and principle:

"Look now, that pirouette -- my stars! how Beauchamp would stare to see his darling perform such an evolution!"

1863, Knightley Willia Horlock, The master of the hounds:

By this operation each foot will describe an arc or segment of a circle. … This evolution is performed sometimes on one foot, sometimes on the other …

1869, William Clarke, The boy's own book:

(chiefly dance, sports) A turning movement, especially of the body.


breakdown

en-noun

breakdown (countable and uncountable, plural breakdowns)

sınma

failure, particularly one which is mechanical in nature

Come, hold on, boys, do n't clear out when the quadrilles are over, for we are going to have a break down to wind up with.

1859, John Russell Bartlett, “Break down”, in Dictionary of Americanisms: A Glossary of Words and Phrases usually Regarded as Peculiar to the United States, 2nd edition, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown, and Company; London: Trübner and Company, →OCLC, page 49:

Towards nine the three miners said that as they had brought their instruments they might as well tune up, for the boys and girls would soon be arriving now, and hungry for a good old fashioned break[-]down. A fiddle, a banjo, and a clarinet—these were the instruments. The trio took their places side by side, and began to play some rattling dance-music, and beat time with their big boots.

1906, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “The Californian’s Tale”, in The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories, New York, N.Y., London: Harper & Brothers, →OCLC, page 193:

(dance, dated) A noisy, rapid, shuffling dance engaged in competitively by a number of individuals or pairs in succession, common among African-Americans from the Southern United States; also, a lively event, chiefly in a rural setting, at which such dancing is done; a hoedown, a shindig.

breakdown-tanssi

shuffling dance common among African-Americans from the Southern United States


square dancing

A type of dance in which eight dancers are arranged in a square as four couples, with a caller calling or singing out the movements that the dancers are to perform.


adance

shadows across the table sent adance

1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow:


pirouette

/ˌpɪ.ɹuːˈɛt/

/ˌpɪ.ɹəˈwɛt/

/ˌpɪ.ɹuːˈɛt/

Borrowed from French pirouette, see there for more; attested since 1706.

"Serious as cognitohazard." Lillihammer danced down the corridor towards them, doing little pirouettes and leaping from toe to toe. "Reuben Wirth no longer exists. Gonna have to get Forsythe to do that brain scan to make sure I'm clean, but otherwise yeah. Poof."

2023 October 14, HarryBlank, “Face Time”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 2024-05-23:

A whirling or turning on the toes in dancing, primarily in ballet.


Bergamask

From the Italian bergamasco (“from Bergamo”), itself from German Bergheim (“mountain home”).

A rustic dance, supposedly typical of the region


hora

From Hebrew הוֹרָה (hóra), Yiddish האָרע (hore), and Romanian horă, from Turkish hora, probably from Greek χορός (chorós, “dance”). Doublet of choir, chorus, and quire.

(dance) A circle dance popular in the Balkans, Israel and Yiddish culture worldwide.


disco

en-verb

disco (third-person singular simple present discos, present participle discoing, simple past and past participle discoed)

discos (present singular third-person)
discoing (participle present)
discoed (participle past)
discoed (past)

From a shortening of discotheque, from French discothèque.

The cause of his ill health is left a little obscure, and no wonder, because shortly before his dreadful deathbed scene he's well enough to join the women in a wild night of disco dancing. You have not lived until you've seen Martin Landau discoing.

2013, Roger Ebert, “B.A.P.S.”, in I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie, Andrews McMeel Publishing, →ISBN:

(intransitive) To dance disco-style dances.


twist

en-noun

twist (countable and uncountable, plural twists)

German: Twist

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Middle English twist, from Old English *twist, in compounds (e.g. mæsttwist (“a rope; stay”), candeltwist (“a wick”)), from Proto-Germanic *twistaz, a derivative of *twi- (“two-”) (compare also twine, between, betwixt).
Related to Saterland Frisian Twist (“discord”), Dutch twist (“twist; strife; discord”), German Low German Twist (“strife; discord”), German Zwist (“turmoil; strife; discord”), Swedish tvist (“quarrel; dispute”), Icelandic tvistur (“deuce”).
The verb is from Middle English twisten. Compare Dutch twisten, Danish tviste (“to dispute”), Swedish tvista (“to argue; dispute”).

cog

Come on, baby, let's do the twist
 Take me by my little hand and go like this

1958, Hank Ballard and the Midnighters (lyrics and music), “The Twist”:

Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring
Seems he was troubled by just one thing
Opened the lid and shook his fist
And said, "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?"
It's now the Mash
It's now the Monster Mash.

1962, “Monster Mash”, Bobby "Boris" Pickett and Lenny Capizzi (lyrics), performed by Bobby (Boris) Pickett and The Crypt-Kickers:

She taught him to do the twist, having learned it herself from an Alvin Ailey dancer at Jacob's Pillow.

1997 April 22, Jennifer Dunning, “Surviving It All, Dismissals, Tours and Balanchine”, in New York Times:

(preceded by definite article) A modern dance popular in Western culture in the late 1950s and 1960s, based on rotating the hips repeatedly from side to side. See Twist (dance) on Wikipedia for more details.

Damascus twist

A material for gun barrels, consisting of iron and steel twisted and welded together.

The physician should evaluate for a history of tight ponytails, buns, chignons, braids, twists, weaves, cornrows, dreadlocks, sisterlocks, and hair wefts in addition to the usage of religious hair coverings.

2021, Becky S. Li, Howard I. Maibach, Ethnic Skin and Hair and Other Cultural Considerations, page 154:


lambada

Borrowed from Portuguese lambada (“strong slap, hit”).

(preceded by definite article) A fast-paced, erotic Brazilian dance in which couples dance with their stomachs touching.


csardas

From Hungarian csárdás, adjectival form of csárda (“tavern”), from Ottoman Turkish چارطاق (çardak, “arbour, summerhouse”), from Persian چارتاق (čârtâq, “four-arch”), from چار (čâr, “four”) + طاق (tâq, “arch”).

der

`When you danced the czardas with Admiral Horthy?'

1958, Anthony Burgess, The Enemy in the Blanket (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 229:

An intricate Hungarian folk dance characterized by variations in tempo. The two main parts are called lassú (slow) and friss (quick).


lawnmower

(preceded by definite article) A dance move in which the dancer mimics using a petrol lawn mower by pulling the starter cord and then pushing the mower forwards to the beat of the music.


rumba

A slow-paced Cuban partner dance in 4:4 time.


shag

en-verb

shag (third-person singular simple present shags, present participle shagging, simple past and past participle shagged)

shags (present singular third-person)
shagging (participle present)
shagged (participle past)
shagged (past)

From Middle English schaggen, a variant of Middle English schoggen (“to shake; shake off; tremble”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a byform of Middle English schokken (“to shake; move rapidly”), related to Middle Low German schokken (“to shake; tremble”). Alternatively, perhaps ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skakkōną (“to shake”), specifically continuing a post-Proto-Germanic variant *skagg-, where the non-singular stem *skag- caused the analogical replacement of the stem-final voiceless geminate consonants with voiced geminates, which was then leveled throughout the paradigm.

cog

I'm not pregnant! I have shagged and shagged and shagged and all the little bastards missed!

2002, Steven Moffat, Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps (Coupling), season 3, episode 7, spoken by Jane Christie (Gina Bellman):

(UK, Ireland, intransitive, slang, vulgar) To have sex.

Showman Monte Proser tried to cash in on the boom on a mass basis with his Dance Carnival in Madison Square Garden, where dancers lindy hopped, shagged and fox-trotted to the orchestras of Benny Goodman, Larry Clinton and Charlie Barnett[…]

1970, Richard R. Lingeman, Don't You Know There's a War On? […] , Putnam, →ISBN, page 16:

(dance, uncommon) To perform the dance called the shag.


shag

Its evolutionary course is unclear; however, by the late thirties, Shag was all the rage both on and off college campuses. It became so popular, in fact, that a 1937 New York Times article describes it as “the fundamental dance step for swing.”

2011, Tamara Stevens, Erin Stevens, editors, Swing Dancing, ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 120:

(dance, sometimes capitalized) A swing dance.

Lizzy is a shag extraordinaire, but has a tongue like a sailor and a castrating stare.

1994 [1993], Irvine Welsh, “Cock Problems”, in Trainspotting, London: Minerva, →ISBN, page 87:

'It turned out that it was me who was just a shag to him. He had a girlfriend I didn't know about. He presumed I was up for some no-strings action. And the thing is, I thought I was – in theory. But in practice, I realized that I wasn't.'

2003, Freya North, Pip, Harper, published 2003, →ISBN:

"Was I just another shag to you, Trace? Someone to bed when the offer came?"

2008, Bruce Cooke, Trace Elements, Eternal Press, published 2008, →ISBN, page 56:

'Your favourite shag?' I ask her.
'Martin Kershen.'
'He was a sexy beast.'

2011, Wes Lee, “Saul”, in Zoe Dattner, Louise Swinn, editors, The Sleepers Almanac, No. 7, Sleepers Publishing, →ISBN, page 135:

(slang, vulgar) A casual sexual partner.


barre

Borrowed from French barre. Doublet of bar.

(ballet) A handrail fixed to a wall used for ballet exercises.


jig

Unknown. Derivation from Middle English gyge (“fiddle”), from Old French gigue (“a fiddle”) has been proposed, but the connection and sense development are obscure. The sense “a type of dance” of modern French gigue is borrowed from English.

They danced a jig.

Soon Marshall is doing an elaborate foot-to-foot jig, and then they're all bounding around. Shoulder dips. Yee-ha faces. It's an impromptu hoedown.

2012 November 15, Tom Lamont, “How Mumford & Sons became the biggest band in the world”, in The Daily Telegraph:

(traditional Irish music and dance) A lively dance in 6/8 (double jig), 9/8 (slip jig) or 12/8 (single jig) time; a tune suitable for such a dance. By extension, a lively traditional tune in any of these time signatures. Unqualified, the term is usually taken to refer to a double (6/8) jig.

(traditional English Morris dance) A dance performed by one or sometimes two individual dancers, as opposed to a dance performed by a set or team.

They were waked out of their bunks one black night by yells of "Squid O!" from Salters, and for an hour and a half every soul aboard hung over his squid-jig—a piece of lead painted red and armed at the lower end with a circle of pins bent backward like half-opened umbrella ribs.

1897, Rudyard Kipling, Captains Courageous:

(fishing) A type of lure consisting of a hook molded into a weight, usually with a bright or colorful body.


jig

en-verb

jig (third-person singular simple present jigs, present participle jigging, simple past and past participle jigged)

jigs (present singular third-person)
jigging (participle present)
jigged (participle past)
jigged (past)


dance

en-noun

dance (countable and uncountable, plural dances)

From Middle English dauncen, from Anglo-Norman dauncer, from Vulgar Latin *dantiāre, of uncertain origin. Displaced the Old English sealtian.

Received Pronunciation, Cockney, Estuary, Jamaica

I do a dance when she plays the drums!

"I ought to arise and go forth with timbrels and with dances; but, do you know, I am not inclined to revels? There has been a little—just a very little bit too much festivity so far …. Not that I don't adore dinners and gossip and dances; not that I do not love to pervade bright and glittering places.[…]"

1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter II, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

A sequence of rhythmic steps or movements usually performed to music, for pleasure or as a form of social interaction.

It was seen that the readiness to dance and intensity of the dance are clearly increased when the temperature in the hive remained between 28-36° C.

1961 November, W. Wittekindt, “An Understanding of Dancing Behaviour”, in G. H. Cale, editor, The American Bee Journal, volume 101, number 11, Hamilton, page 434:

(apiology) A repetitive movement used in communication between worker honey bees.


dance

en-verb

dance (third-person singular simple present dances, present participle dancing, simple past and past participle danced)

dances (present singular third-person)
dancing (participle present)
danced (participle past)
danced (past)

→ Arabic: دانس (dāns)

→ Scottish Gaelic: danns

→ Zulu: dansa

I danced with her all night long.

These drum beats are making me dance!

“Well,” I answered, at first with uncertainty, then with inspiration, “he would do splendidly to lead your cotillon, if you think of having one.” ¶ “So you do not dance, Mr. Crocker?” ¶ I was somewhat set back by her perspicuity.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

(intransitive) To move with rhythmic steps or movements, especially in time to music.

Have you ever danced the tango?


mambo

en-noun

mambo (countable and uncountable, plural mambos or mamboes)

From Haitian Creole manbo (“voodoo priestess”) (ultimately from Yoruba mambo (“to talk”)), in later senses via Cuban Spanish mambo (“dance”).

der

A Latin-American musical genre, adapted from rumba, originating from Cuba in the 1940s, or a dance or rhythm of this genre.


samba

en-noun

samba (countable and uncountable, plural sambas)

Borrowed from Brazilian Portuguese samba, from a Bantu language. Doublet of semba.

bor+

A Brazilian ballroom dance or dance style.

A Brazilian musical genre, to which the aforementioned dance is danced, which has its roots in West Africa via the slave trade.


samba

en-verb

samba (third-person singular simple present sambas, present participle sambaing, simple past and past participle sambaed)

sambas (present singular third-person)
sambaing (participle present)
sambaed (participle past)
sambaed (past)


breaker

From Middle English breker, brekere, equivalent to break + -er. Cognate with Dutch breker, German Brecher.

буренце

small cask of water in case of shipwreck


volta

(music, dance) A dance for couples popular during the late Renaissance, associated with the galliard and done to the same kind of music.


caper

From Latin capparis, from Ancient Greek κάππαρις (kápparis).


minuet

From French menuet, from menu (“small”) + -et (“diminutive”), from Latin minutus (“very small”).

A slow graceful dance consisting of a coupé, a high step, and a balance.

(music) A tune or air to regulate the movements of the minuet dance: it has the dance form, and is commonly in 3/4, sometimes 3/8, measure.

(music) A complete short musical composition inspired by and conforming to many formal characteristics of the traditional musical accompaniment to the dance of same name.

(music) A movement which is part of a longer musical composition such as a suite, sonata, or symphony which is inspired by and conforming to formal characteristics of the dance of same name.


minuet

minuet (third-person singular simple present minuets, present participle minueting, simple past and past participle minueted)

minuets (present singular third-person)
minueting (participle present)
minueted (participle past)
minueted (past)

After he had raved his time upon the stage, the ladies and knights again minueted for an hour, and again gave place.

1838, William Samuel Waithman Ruschenberger, A Voyage Round the World, page 318:

Within the same circle with the pigeons, were beautiful albatrosses, poising and minueting with them in the most pleasing fellowship.

1840, “An Officer of the U. S. Navy,”, in Around the World: A Narrative of a Voyage in the East India Squadron, Under Commodore George C. Read, page 163:

This set the pattern for four years, as the two monarchs minueted around the vast Commonwealth, never again to face each other personally in battle.

2001, Tony Sharp, Pleasure and Ambition: The Life, Loves and Wars of Augustus the Strong, page 185:


reel

From Middle English reel, reele, from Old English rēol, hrēol, from Proto-West Germanic *hrehul, from Proto-Germanic *hrehulaz, *hrahilaz, from Proto-Indo-European *krek- (“to weave, beat”). Cognate with Icelandic ræl, hræll.

der

So strict is the kirk of Scotland, that one minister was unfrocked for writing a play (in former times); and another was sent about his business for being too fond of whiskey and of dancing the reel of Tullochgorum.

1824, Felix M'Donogh, The Hermit in Edinburgh:

(dance) A lively dance originating in Scotland.

[…]sample the famed waters from the Scottish mountains like a native born, and last but not least, play a reel on the bagpipes in the big hall that set all the laddies and lassies dancing.

The traditional reel Within a Mile of Dublin, for instance, distorts until it reaches something quasi-industrial.

2023 November 13, Patrick Clarke, “‘People’s idea of Irishness is so warped’: John Francis Flynn, the folk singer fighting for Dublin’s spirit”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(music) The music of this dance; often called a Scottish (or Scotch) reel.

a log reel (used by seamen)

an angler's reel

a garden reel

nudge the fruit machine reel

A kind of spool, turning on an axis, on which yarn, threads, lines, or the like, are wound.

(agriculture) A device consisting of radial arms with horizontal stats, connected with a harvesting machine, for holding the stalks of grain in position to be cut by the knives.


reel

en-verb

reel (third-person singular simple present reels, present participle reeling, simple past and past participle reeled)

reels (present singular third-person)
reeling (participle present)
reeled (participle past)
reeled (past)

To produce a mechanical insect-like song, as in grass warblers.


jive

en-noun

jive (countable and uncountable, plural jives)

Unknown. Slang attested in African-American and rural American culture. Frequently used to imply lying, verbal deception or trickery. Has a possible historical antecedent in gyve (“shackle”). Alternatively, of African origin, compare Wolof jev, jeu (“to talk about someone absent, especially in a disparaging manner”).

Although speaking Western Japanese to your friends in Ōsaka, Kyōto, or Kōbe will allow you to get closer to them, speaking Western Japanese in Tōkyō might seem as outlandish as hearing a Japanese exchange student back home speaking jive or cockney.

1993, Peter Tse, Kansai Japanese: The Language of Osaka, Kyoto, and Western Japan: This Japanese Phrasebook and Language Guide Teaches the Kansai Dialect, Tuttle Publishing, →ISBN, page 17:

"Oh come on," she said. "I heard you talking jive the other day when you were playing with your dolls. And back in February, when you recited that poem by, by—what was the poet's name?
"Langston Hughes?"
"Right, Langston Hughes," Kanta said. "You spoke jive when you read that poem, remember?"

2019, Mathea Morais, There You Are, Amberjack Publishing, →ISBN:

African-American Vernacular English
African-American Vernacular English

(US, colloquial, often derogatory) African-American Vernacular English.


stroll

Borrowed from German strollen, a variant of Alemannic German strolchen, from Strolch (“vagabond; rascal”).

(preceded by definite article) A dance of the 1950s in which dancers leisurely stepped, cross-stepped, and dipped at the knee to the beat of the music.


étoile

Borrowed from French étoile. Doublet of estoile, stella, star, and aster.

doublet

(ballet) The leading ballet dancer in a company


surf

en-verb

surf (third-person singular simple present surfs, present participle surfing, simple past and past participle surfed)

surfs (present singular third-person)
surfing (participle present)
surfed (participle past)
surfed (past)

1680s, perhaps from earlier suffe (c. 1590), possibly related to sough, or possibly of Indo-Aryan origin, as the word was formerly a reference to the coast of India.
The verb is from 1917.
The verb referring to "browsing the Internet" was popularized by Jean Armour Polly.

(transitive, intransitive) To browse the Internet, television, etc.


swivel

en-noun

swivel (countable and uncountable, plural swivels)

From Middle English swyvel, swivel, from a derivative of Old English swīfan (“to revolve”), + -el, an instrumental suffix, equivalent to swive + -el.


skank

Originally Jamaican, attested from the twentieth century, but earliest source is uncertain. The verb sense be dishonest is evidently older. Perhaps originally onomatopoeic. The dance senses may come from a resemblance to motorcyclists weaving in and out of traffic. Compare skanker.

[…]the ability to double up with contagious laughter; the feeling of pure child-like glee; and the mesmerizing, trance-like skank dancing that looks like African aerobics after centuries of rhythm.

1989, “Reggae: The revolution continues”, in Link, volume 32, number 1, page 35:

All reggae dance represents a dialogue with that basic movement which is the skank — a kind of offbeat walking on the spot

1999, Kwame Dawes, Natural Mysticism: Towards a New Reggae Aesthetic in Caribbean Writing, page 110:

A dance performed to ska, dub, or reggae music.


rock and roll

/ˈɹɒk ən(d)ˈɹəʊl/

From rock (move back and forth) + and + roll; originally a verb phrase common among African Americans, meaning "to have sexual intercourse"; it was a euphemism that appeared in song titles since at least 1914 (Trixie Smith's "My Man Rocks Me With One Steady Roll").
As a name for a specific style of popular music from the early 1950s, popularized by disc jockey Alan Freed in reference to the euphemistic use in song titles.

(dance) A style of vigorous dancing associated with this genre of music.


pony

→ Belarusian: по́ні (póni)

→ Danish: pony

→ Dutch: pony
→ Indonesian: poni

→ Finnish: poni

→ French: poney
→ Romanian: ponei

→ Georgian: პონი (ṗoni)

→ German: Pony
→ Estonian: poni

→ Hungarian: póni

→ Irish: pónaí

→ Italian: pony

→ Japanese: ポニー (ponī)

→ Lithuanian: ponis

→ Maltese: poni

→ Norwegian: ponni

→ Portuguese: pónei

→ Russian: пони (poni)

→ Spanish: poni

→ Swedish: ponny

→ Ukrainian: по́ні (póni)

1659 from Scots powny, apparently from Middle French poulenet (“little foal”), ultimately from Late Latin pullanus (“young of an animal”), from pullus (cognate to English foal). Sense “small serving of alcohol” from 19th century, both for small sizes generally and for a quarter pint specifically, from the small size.

uder

(slang, derogatory, video games) Ellipsis of Sony pony.


boogie

(informal, US) A piece of solid or semisolid mucus in or removed from the nostril cavity.


boogie

Come on girls, let's get on the dancefloor and have a boogie!

(informal) Any relatively energetic dance to pop or rock music.

(skydiving, informal) A large, organised skydiving event.


boogie

en-verb

boogie (third-person singular simple present boogies, present participle boogying or boogieing, simple past and past participle boogied)

boogies (present singular third-person)
boogying (participle present)
boogieing (participle present)
boogied (participle past)
boogied (past)

Don't you know I wanna boogie with you / Hey, I wanna boogie with you / Down on the corner

1979, Lou Reed (lyrics and music), “I Want to Boogie With You”, in The Bells:

Mr. Nichols said that with permits, equipment storage fees and other expenses, it costs the association about $7,000 for a season of boogieing.

2007 May 28, Tim Murphy, “A Little Older and a Bit Creakier, Skaters Boogie on in Central Park”, in New York Times:


tango

From Rioplatense Spanish tango, probably from a Niger-Congo language (compare Ibibio tamgu (“to dance”)).

(dance) A standard ballroom dance in 4/4 time; or a social dance, the Argentine tango.

(dance) A Spanish flamenco dance with different steps from the Argentine.


tango

From translingual Tango (representing the letter T), from English tango (see above).

NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet
w:NATO Phonetic Alphabet

(international standards) Alternative letter-case form of Tango from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.


dip

en-noun

dip (countable and uncountable, plural dips)

From Middle English dippen, from Old English dyppan, from Proto-West Germanic *duppjan, from Proto-Germanic *dupjaną; see *daupijaną (“to dip”). Related to deep.

(dance) A move in many different styles of partner dances, often performed at the end of a dance, in which the follower leans far to the side and is supported by the leader.


dip

en-verb

dip (third-person singular simple present dips, present participle dipping, simple past and past participle dipped)

dips (present singular third-person)
dipping (participle present)
dipped (participle past)
dipped (past)

dip me in honey and throw me to the lesbians

(transitive, dance) To perform a dip dance move (often phrased with the leader as the subject noun and the follower as the subject noun being dipped)


foxtrot

The tango, the Texas Tommy, Walking the Dog, the one step, the fox trot, the shimmy, and all their out-growths, had their origin in the palaces of lust on the Barbary Coast of San Francisco.

1930, Jefferis & Nichols, Safe Counsel or Practical Eugenics, page 200:

A ballroom dance with a slow-slow-quick-quick rhythm.


lap dance

A asks Z, a child, to perform a lap dance on B while being recorded by A. […] A is guilty of an offence under this section by causing a child to engage in a sexual performance.

2023, Parliament of Malaysia, “Section 14, new section 15A, illustration (a)”, in Sexual Offences against Children (Amendment) Act 2023, archived from the original on 2023-06-21, page 9:

An erotic form of entertainment, typically at a men's club, where a naked or nearly-nude performer straddles a customer and moves in a rhythmic, sexual manner over his or her lap.


lap dance

lap dance (third-person singular simple present lap dances, present participle lap dancing, simple past and past participle lap danced)

lap dances (present singular third-person)
lap dancing (participle present)
lap danced (participle past)
lap danced (past)


locomotion

en-noun

locomotion (usually uncountable, plural locomotions)

/ləʊ.kəˈməʊ.ʃən/

/ləʉ.kəˈməʉ.ʃən/

From French locomotion, from Latin locō (literally “from a place”) (ablative of locus (“place”)) + motionem (“motion, a moving”) (nominative mōtio), from Latin movēre, present active infinitive of moveō (“move; change, exchange, go in or out, quit”), from Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- (“to move, drive”).

der

(countable, often preceded by definite article) A dance, originally popular in the 1960s, in which the arms are used to mimic the motion of the connecting rods of a steam locomotive.


attitude

en-noun

attitude (countable and uncountable, plural attitudes)

From French attitude, from Italian attitudine (“attitude, aptness”), from Medieval Latin aptitūdō (“aptitude”) and actitūdō (“acting, posture”), from Latin aptō and actitō. Doublet of aptitude.

der

Blasis was a man of many accomplishments. He invented the ballet position of attitude and codified the ballet technique of that time, distinguishing three types of dancers: the serious, the demi-caractère, and the comic dancer.

2007, Gayle Kassing, History of Dance: An Interactive Arts Approach, page 134:

(ballet) A position similar to arabesque, but with the raised leg bent at the knee.

attitude

ballet position similar to arabesque but with raised leg bent at the knee


flyer

→ Finnish: flaijeri

→ French: flyer

→ German: Flyer

→ Korean: 플라이어 (peullaieo)

→ Portuguese: flyer

From fly + -er (agent noun suffix).
With regard to the sense "female kangaroo": because of the high speed at which they move.

طَيَّار

someone who pilots or rides in an airplane

Coordinate term: base

(acrobatics, cheerleading, synchronized swimming) A person who is lifted and/or thrown by another person or persons.


mazurka

Via German Mazurka and Russian мазу́рка (mazúrka), from Polish mazurek (“dance of the Masurian”), the Masurians being the inhabitants of Mazowsze (compare Medieval Latin Mazovia), an ancient cultural region in east-central Poland.

(music) A Polish folk dance in triple time, usually moderately fast, containing a heavy accent on the third beat and occasionally the second beat.


calypso

en-noun

calypso (countable and uncountable, plural calypsos or calypsoes)

Originally Trinidad English, an alteration of kaiso, perhaps ultimately of African origin; Allsopp 1996 suggests Ibibio ka iso (“come on”), used to urge dancers on. The spelling reflects a later folk-etymological assimilation with the mythological name Calypso.

'How you does live, Mr. Wordsworth?' I asked him one day.
He said, 'You mean how I get money?'
When I nodded, he laughed in a crooked way.
He said, 'I sing calypsoes in the calypso season.'
'And that last you the rest of the year?'
'It is enough.'

1959, V. S. Naipaul, “B. Wordsworth”, in Miguel Street

A style of Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to the mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles and Venezuela by the mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back to West African Kaiso and the arrival of French planters and their slaves from the French Antilles in the 18th century.


hula

Under the rule of Kalākaua, they had revived the hula, which had been condemned by the missionaries.

2012, Julia Flynn Siler, Lost Kingdom, Grove Press, page 87:

A form of chant and dance, which was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Polynesians who originally settled there.


bossa nova

bossa nova (countable and uncountable, plural bossa novas)

/ˈbɒsə ˈnəʊvə/

From colloquial Brazilian Portuguese bossa (“inclination, propensity, trend”, literally “protuberance”) + nova (“new”).

bor

A genre of music originating from Brazil, similar to a fusion of jazz and samba music, no longer closely associated with the Brazilian dance.


polka

Via French and German from Czech polka, variant of půlka (“half”) as in "half-step"; see půl (“half”).


polka

en-verb

polka (third-person singular simple present polkas, present participle polkaing, simple past and past participle polkaed)

polkas (present singular third-person)
polkaing (participle present)
polkaed (participle past)
polkaed (past)


breaking

en-noun

breaking (countable and uncountable, plural breakings)

The urban dance genre includes breaking, waacking, and house dancing, among others.

2014, Karen Schupp, Studying Dance: A Guide for Campus and Beyond, page 48:


footwork

footwork (usually uncountable, plural footworks)

In April, DJ Rashad, a Chicago-based producer and pioneer of the increasingly popular footwork genre, died in a drug-related accident.

2015 November 16, Sukhdev Sandhu, “How dub master Kode9 became the hero of zero”, in The Guardian:

(uncountable, music) A subgenre of juke/ghetto house and style of street dance that originated in Chicago in the early 1990s.


vogue

vogue (countable and uncountable, plural vogues)

First attested in 1565. Borrowed from Middle French vogue (“wave, course of success”), from Old French vogue, from voguer (“to row, sway, set sail”), from Old Saxon wogōn (“to sway, rock”), var. of wagōn (“to float, fluctuate”), from Proto-Germanic *wagōną (“to sway, fluctuate”) and Proto-Germanic *wēgaz (“water in motion”), from Proto-Germanic *weganą (“to move, carry, weigh”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to move, go, transport”) (compare way).
Akin to Old Saxon wegan (“to move”), Old High German wegan (“to move”), Old English wegan (“to move, carry, weigh”), Old Norse vaga (“to sway, fluctuate”), Old English wagian (“to sway, totter”), German Woge (“wave”), Swedish våg (“wave”). More at wag.
The dance derives its name from Vogue magazine.

cog

(dance) A highly stylized modern dance that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene in the 1960s.


brawl

en-verb

brawl (third-person singular simple present brawls, present participle brawling, simple past and past participle brawled)

brawls (present singular third-person)
brawling (participle present)
brawled (participle past)
brawled (past)

The verb is derived from Late Middle English braulen, brall, brallen (“to clamour, to shout; to quarrel; to boast”); further etymology is uncertain, but the word could be related to bray and ultimately imitative. It may be cognate with Danish bralle (“to chatter, jabber”), Dutch brallen (“to boast”), Low German brallen (“to brag”), Middle High German prālen (“to boast, flaunt”) (modern German prahlen (“to boast, flaunt, vaunt”)).
The noun is derived from Middle English brall, bralle, braul, braule, brawle (“disturbance, squabble; brawl”), from the verb braulen: see above.

cog

To day my Lord of Amiens, and my ſelfe, / Did ſteale behinde him as he lay along / Vnder an oake, whoſe anticke roote peepes out / Vpon the brooke that brawles along this wood, [...]

c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 190, column 1:

―When low-hung clouds each ſtar of ſummer hide, / And fireleſs are the valleys far and wide, / Where the brook brawls along the painful road, / Dark with bat haunted aſhes ſtretching broad, [...]

1793, W[illiam] Wordsworth, An Evening Walk. An Epistle; in Verse. […], London: Printed for J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC; republished as “The Female Beggar. From Wordsworth’s Evening Walk.”, in The Edinburgh Magazine, or Literary Miscellany, volume III (New Series), Edinburgh: Printed for James Symington […] and sold in London by H. Murray […], and W. Boag […], May 1794, →OCLC, page 387, column 1:

What seek we here / Amid this waste where desolation scowls, / And the red torrent, brawling down the linn, / Sings everlasting discord?

1814, J. H. Craig [pseudonym; James Hogg], The Hunting of Badlewe: A Dramatic Tale, London: H[enry] Colburn; Edinburgh: G. Goldie, →OCLC, page 1; quoted in “The Hunting of Badlewe, a Dramatic Tale. 8vo. Edin. 1814. [From the Scottish Review.]”, in The Analectic Magazine, Containing Selections from Foreign Reviews and Magazines, together with Original Miscellaneous Compositions, volume V (New Series), Philadelphia, Pa.: Published and sold by Moses Thomas, […], May 1815, →OCLC, pages 353–354:

(intransitive) Especially of a rapid stream running over stones: to make a loud, confused noise.


brawl

Possibly from French branler (“to shake”), from Old French brandeler (“to shake, wave; to agitate”), from brand, branc (“blade of a sword”), from Vulgar Latin *brandus (“firebrand; flaming sword; sword”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrenu- (“to burn”).

der

(intransitive, obsolete) To move to and fro, to quiver, to shake.


brawl

From French branle (“type of dance; an act of shaking, a shake”), from branler (“to shake”), from Old French brandeler (“to shake, wave; to agitate”); see further at etymology 2.
Alternatively, the word could be derived from brawl (“(obsolete) to move to and fro, quiver, shake”): see etymology 2.

(dance, obsolete) A type of dance move or step.

Boy. Maiſter, will you win your loue with a french braule? / Brag[gart]. How meaneſt thou? brawling in French. / Boy. No my complet Maiſter, but to Iigge off a tune at the tongues ende, canarie to it with your feete, humour it with turning vp your eylids, ſigh a note and ſing a note ſomtime through the throate, if you ſwallowed loue with ſinging loue [...]

c. 1595–1596 (date written), W. Shakespere [i.e., William Shakespeare], A Pleasant Conceited Comedie Called, Loues Labors Lost. […] (First Quarto), London: […] W[illiam] W[hite] for Cut[h]bert Burby, published 1598, →OCLC; republished as Shakspere’s Loves Labours Lost (Shakspere-Quarto Facsimiles; no. 5), London: W[illiam] Griggs, […], [1880], →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

(dance, music, historical) Alternative form of branle (“dance of French origin dating from the 16th century, performed by couples in a circle or a line; the music for this dance”)


waltz

From German Walzer, from walzen (“to dance”), from Old High German walzan (“to turn”), from Proto-Germanic *walt- (“to turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn”). Doublet of valse. More at *waltaną.

Miss Esler and Mr. McMorrow went to Kalgoorlie to adjudicate at the goldfields waltz and quickstep championships, and found the standard of dancing surprisingly high.

1938 October 26, The Daily News, Perth, page 11, column 5:


stunt

en-verb

stunt (third-person singular simple present stunts, present participle stunting, simple past and past participle stunted)

stunts (present singular third-person)
stunting (participle present)
stunted (participle past)
stunted (past)

Unknown. Compare Middle Low German stunt (“a shoulder grip with which you throw someone on their back”), Middle English stunt (“foolish; stupid”).

cog

(intransitive, cheerleading) To perform a stunt.


frug

She [...] loves to cook, sew and dance. She's up on all the latest steps like the frug, the hully-gully and the surf.

1964 July 15, The Australian, Sydney, page 20, column 3:

The snake did the frug, the monkey did the shake. The crowd, mostly young couples, tourists and kids, loved it.

1969, Allen V. Ross, Vice in Bombay, London: Tallis Press, page 52:

They were doing a modified frug, a dance Ruth had learned—and abandoned—in high school.

1990, T. Coraghessan Boyle, East is East: A Novel, Viking, →ISBN, page 166:

In telegraphic succession, the parents two-step, Charleston, lindy, twist, and frug, their dance harmony always splintered apart by their offspring.

1991, Marcia B. Siegel, Nathaniel Tileston, The Tail of the Dragon: New Dance, 1976–1982, Duke University Press, →ISBN, page 158:

(usually preceded by definite article) A dance derived from the twist, popular in the 1960s.


mosh

en-verb

mosh (third-person singular simple present moshes, present participle moshing, simple past and past participle moshed)

moshes (present singular third-person)
moshing (participle present)
moshed (participle past)
moshed (past)

Possibly an alteration or deformation of mash.

From 9 in the morning (when It Dies Today played the lot) until 9 at night (when Ozzy Osbourne led Black Sabbath on the main stage), hardy fans cheered and moshed and staggered through a stifling but often exciting day.

2005 July 28, Kelefa Sanneh, “Heat, Good Cheer, Jagged Music and Even Some Melody”, in New York Times:

(intransitive) To dance by intentionally jumping into and colliding with other, similarly behaving dancers, and performing other wild, aggressive, or spastic movements.

(transitive) To intentionally jump into and collide with another, similarly behaving dancer at a concert.


mosh

We had a great mosh at the gig.


Terpsichore

From Ancient Greek Τερψιχόρη (Terpsikhórē, from τέρψις (térpsis, “enjoyment, delight”) + χορός (khorós, “chorus”)).

uder

(astronomy) 81 Terpsichore, a main belt asteroid.


haka

Leon Panetta
United States Secretary of Defense

Borrowed from Maori haka, from Proto-Polynesian *saka, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *sakaŋ. The word is cognate with Hawaiian haʻa (“dance”), Mangarevan ʻaka (“to perform a traditional dance; a usually warlike dance accompanied by a chant”), Rarotongan ʻaka (“dance”), Samoan saʻa (“dance”), Tokelauan haka (“dance”), Tongan haka (“hand action made while singing”).

cog

After each of my retinue were presented to the chief, partaking of the honour of the ougi, or salutation, the hákà, or dance of welcome, was performed; this was commenced by our entertainers, who placed themselves in an extended line, in ranks four deep. This dance, to a stranger witnessing it for the first time, is calculated to excite the most alarming fears; […]

1838, J[oel] S[amuel] Polack, chapter III, in New Zealand: Being a Narrative of Travels and Adventures during a Residence in that Country between the Years 1831 and 1837. … In Two Volumes, volume I, London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street, publisher in ordinary to Her Majesty, →OCLC, page 81:

A "Haka" is the native dance, answering to the corroboree of the Australian aboriginals, and we were anxious to see it. […] Later in the evening, however, the complaisant Herekiekie entertained a small and select party at a "Haka" in his "whare" or house (pronounced wharry). It was exactly what I expected. The performers, all male, stood in a row, one, slightly advanced, acting as fugleman. They shouted and gesticulated with the most hideous and revolting gestures, grimaces, and yells.

1876 January, “A Week among the Maoris of Lake Taupo”, in The Cornhill Magazine, volume XXXIII, number 193, London: Smith, Elder & Co., 15 Waterloo Place, →OCLC, page 65:

[T]he children might get up and dance in the middle of their sums. Matawhero might stand up and lead a haka if I'm not careful. Oh dear.

1986, Sylvia Ashton-Warner, “Life in a Maori School”, in Teacher (A Touchstone Book), 1st Touchstone edition, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, pages 198 and 200:

An already febrile atmosphere within the ground before the start had been stoked still further when France's players formed an arrow formation to face down the haka, and then advanced slowly over halfway as the capacity crowd roared.

2011 October 23, Tom Fordyce, “2011 Rugby World Cup Final: New Zealand 8 – 7 France”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 2017-04-03:

The Maori haka ritual has been made famous by the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby team. Before each match, the All Blacks face their opponents and engage in a synchronized display of hand-slapping, feet-stomping, chest-pumping, tongue-wagging, and eye-popping chanting and dancing designed to intimidate their opponents. The All Blacks' version of the haka is called ka-mate, a war haka or peruperu. […] But hakas are not restricted to war; they are also used as a welcome to strangers, as part of a funeral, or as part of various celebrations and ceremonies.

2013, Matt J. Rossano, “Mountain Rituals”, in Mortal Rituals: What the Story of the Andes Survivors Tells Us about Human Evolution, New York, N.Y., Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, pages 105–106:

A group dance of New Zealand's Maori people featuring rhythmic chanting, vigorous facial and arm movements, and foot stamping. Traditionally a war dance, today it is also performed to welcome guests, as a mark of respect at occasions such as commemorations and funerals, as a challenge to opposing teams at sports events, and for artistic purposes.


windmill

From Middle English wyndmylne, wyndmylle, equivalent to wind + mill. Cognate with Scots wyndmyln, wyndmyl, Saterland Frisian Wíendmäälne, West Frisian wynmûne, Dutch windmolen, Afrikaans windmeul, Dutch Low Saxon windmölle (Achterhooks), wiendmeule (Drents, Veluws), German Low German Windmöhl, German Windmühle, Danish vindmølle, Norwegian Bokmål vindmølle, Norwegian Nynorsk vindmølle, vindmylne, Swedish vindmölla, Icelandic vindmylla.

A child's toy consisting of vanes mounted on a stick that rotate when blown by a person or by the wind.


jitterbug

desctree

Japanese: ジルバ (jiruba)
Chinese: 吉魯巴／吉鲁巴 (jílǔbā)

/ˈd͡ʒɪtə(ɹ)bʌɡ/

From jitter + bug, after the 1934 Cab Calloway song Jitter Bug.

(dance) An uptempo jazz or swing dance which embellishes on the two-step pattern and frequently incorporates acrobatic style swing steps.

Synonym of diddley bow (“type of stringed instrument”)


jitterbug

en-verb

jitterbug (third-person singular simple present jitterbugs, present participle jitterbugging, simple past and past participle jitterbugged)

jitterbugs (present singular third-person)
jitterbugging (participle present)
jitterbugged (participle past)
jitterbugged (past)

/ˈd͡ʒɪtə(ɹ)bʌɡ/


trot

From Middle English trotten, from Old French trotter, troter (“to go, trot”), from Medieval Latin *trottō, *trotō (“to go”), from Frankish *trottōn (“to go, run”), from Proto-Germanic *trudōną, *trudaną, *tradjaną (“to go, step, tread”), from Proto-Indo-European *dreh₂- (“to run, escape”). Cognate with Old High German trottōn (“to run”), Modern German trotten (“to trot, plod”), Gothic 𐍄𐍂𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌽 (trudan, “to tread”), Old Norse troða (“to walk, tread”), Old English tredan (“to step, tread”). Doublet of tread.


breakdancing

From break + dancing.
Influenced by breakdown (the percussion break of songs chosen by a DJ for use in hip-hop music) -- breakdancers were originally those who danced to a breakdown.

(dance) An urban style of acrobatic street dance that originated in the hip hop culture of New York City in the late 20th century.


bump

en-noun

bump (countable and uncountable, plural bumps)

From Early Modern English bump (“a shock, blow from a collision”), probably of North Germanic origin; compare Danish bump (“a thump”), Danish bumpe (“to thump”), Old Danish bumpe (“to strike with a clenched fist”), all probably of imitative origin.
Apparently related to Middle English bumben, bummen (“to make a hollow noise”), Dutch bommen (“to hum, buzz”), German Low German bumsen (“to bump, push”), German bummen (“to hum, buzz”), Icelandic bumba (“drum”). More at bum, bumble. Compare also bomb.

onom

imitative

cog

We sing [...] "God Save the Queen" done in mime and finally "Clap Hands, Here Comes Charley" to a Hawaiian rock with Phoebe doing the bump.

1979, Robert English, Toxic Kisses, Eden Paperbacks, page 32:

(preceded by definite article) A disco dance in which partners rhythmically bump each other's hips together.


bump

en-verb

bump (third-person singular simple present bumps, present participle bumping, simple past and past participle bumped)

bumps (present singular third-person)
bumping (participle present)
bumped (participle past)
bumped (past)
Lighter (canonical)
1917-1919: An Historical Glossary” (canonical)
volume 47 (canonical)
number 1 (canonical)
page 24 (canonical)

onom

imitative

(slang) To play music through a speaker, often loudly and in public.


limbo

Origin uncertain; possibly an alteration of limber (“bendable, flexible, pliant”) with the ending of the word respelled to represent a Caribbean English pronunciation.
It is unclear whether the verb is derived from the noun, or the noun is derived from the verb; the noun is attested slightly earlier.

Every limbo boy and girl / All around the limbo world / Gonna do the limbo rock / All around the limbo clock / Jack be limbo, Jack be quick / Jack go under limbo stick / All around the limbo clock / Hey, let's do the limbo rock

1962 October, Jan Sheldon [pseudonym; Kal Mann], Billy Strange (lyrics and music), “Limbo Rock”, in Limbo Party, performed by Chubby Checker:

At night steel-band and calypso shows liven up many of the island's larger hotels. If you're not up for watching limbos, bottle dancing, and fire eating, your best bet might be a leisurely dinner before settling down on chaise longues around your hotel's pool with a couple of fruity concoctions.

1992, Susan Farewell, “The United States Virgin Islands”, in Alan Tucker, editor, The Berlitz Travellers Guide to the Caribbean 1993, New York, N.Y., Oxford, Oxfordshire: Berlitz Publishing Company, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 140:

Limbo is a traditional popular dance contest that originated on the island of Trinidad. It got its name in the 1950s, but the limbo dates back to the 1800s in Trinidad. […] R&B singer-songwriter Chubby Checker, who popularized the Twist, also popularized the limbo dance and the phrase "How low can you go?" The world record for the lowest limbo dance is only 8.5 inches above the ground!

2016, Linda Parker Hamilton, “Games in the Outdoors”, in Camping Activity Book for Families; The Kid-tested Guide to Fun in the Outdoors, Guilford, Conn., Helena, Mont.: FalconGuides, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 122, column 2:

(dance, also attributively) A competitive dance originating from Trinidad and Tobago in which dancers take turns to cross under a horizontal bar while bending backwards. The bar is lowered with each round, and the competition is won by the dancer who passes under the bar in the lowest position without dislodging it or falling down.

林波舞

competitive dance in which dancers take turns to cross under a horizontal bar while bending backwards


limbo

en-verb

limbo (third-person singular simple present limbos, present participle limboing, simple past and past participle limboed)

limbos (present singular third-person)
limboing (participle present)
limboed (participle past)
limboed (past)

Steve Becker was rolling around with the other skaters at the Pismo Beach, Calif. roller rink one day when it was announced that there would be a limbo contest. […] Steve had his friends set the bar lower and lower while he got flatter and flatter, until finally, at just over a foot and almost spread-eagled, he reached his limboing limit.

1967 November 24, “Miscellany: Stoop to Conquer”, in George P. Hunt, editor, Life, volume 63, number 21, Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 124:

The race begins at Alyeska Resort with an alpine skiing leg. It then proceeds through a downhill sprint, an in-line skate, a mountain bike ride, a 5K run, a wheelchair obstacle course and, if all that wasn't enough, a three-legged race in which participants chug a beer or soda before limboing under the tape.

1993 May–June, Kathleen Ring, “Coming Attractions”, in Snow Country: The Year-round Magazine of Skiing, Mountain Sports & Living, volume 6, number 3, Trumbull, Conn.: NYT Sports/Leisure Magazines, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 68, column 3:

After each player goes under once, the bar is lowered about an inch. Players keep limboing under the limbo stick as it gets lower and lower. If you touch the stick with any part of your body, you're out. The last person left is the winner.

2016, Linda Parker Hamilton, “Games in the Outdoors”, in Camping Activity Book for Families; The Kid-tested Guide to Fun in the Outdoors, Guilford, Conn., Helena, Mont.: FalconGuides, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 122:

Anyway, one year we had a party in our unfinished basement. All I remember about it is that we limboed on bare concrete. Good times!

2020 January 28, Giselle Renarde, “Limbo Rock (Chubby Checker)”, in Play It on My Radio: A Diary in Music, [Los Gatos, Calif.]: [Smashwords], published 2021, →ISBN, page 171:

(dance) To dance the limbo (etymology 2, noun sense 1).


shuffle

Originally the same word as scuffle, and properly a frequentative of shove.

(dance) A dance move in which the foot is scuffed across the floor back and forth.


ceilidh

The noun is borrowed from Scottish Gaelic cèilidh (“a pilgrimage; a social call, visit; a sojourn; a social gathering with dancing, etc., ceilidh”) and Irish célidhe (archaic), céilí (“a social call, visit; a social gathering with dancing, etc., ceilidh”), both from Old Irish célide (“social call, visit”), from céile (“companion, fellow; neighbour”) (ultimately from Proto-Celtic *kēiliyos (“companion; servant”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- (“to settle”)) + -ide.
The plural form ceilidhean is borrowed from Scottish Gaelic cèilidhean.
The verb is derived from the noun.

der

Looking for the Possible Dance [by Alison Louise Kennedy] sets up the 'dance', the ceilidh, as a site of personal and possibly national salvation, but one plagued by insecurities.

2009, Michael Gardiner, “Arcades – The 1980s and 1990s”, in Ian Brown, Alan Raich, editors, Edinburgh Companion to Twentieth-century Scottish Literature, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, →ISBN, page 188:

'Traditional' British dance is a rather woolly genre; its bounds drawn without much discrimination and inclusive of folk dancing, ceilidh, country dancing and pretty much anything pre-20ᵗʰ century that didn't involve a tutu.

2009, “Performing Arts”, in Andrew Whittaker, editor, Britain: Be Fluent in British Life and Culture (Speak the Culture; 3), London: Thorogood Publishing, →ISBN, page 208:

We asked guests to bring something to share: poems, songs, short stories, music, even juggling—whatever they wanted to perform. Afterwards, we all danced the ceilidh, […]

2015, Jodie Gould, quoting “Clark”, “#4: Create: Expressing and Expanding the Inner Self”, in High: Six Principles for Guilt-free Pleasure and Escape, Center City, Minn.: Hazelden Publishing, →ISBN, Part 2 (The Six Pleasure Principles), page 174:


ceilidh

en-verb

ceilidh (third-person singular simple present ceilidhs, present participle ceilidhing, simple past and past participle ceilidhed)

ceilidhs (present singular third-person)
ceilidhing (participle present)
ceilidhed (participle past)
ceilidhed (past)

Nightly the scratch of fiddles and the thud of a reel-set staccatoed the timbers [of the ship sailing from Londonderry to Boston], as the peasant Irish ceilidhed their way to 'Amerikay'.

2001, Brendan Graham, chapter 5, in The Element of Fire, London: HarperCollins Publishers, →ISBN, page 27:


shimmy

A back-formation from chemise (mistaken for a plural).

A dance move involving thrusting the shoulders back and forth alternately.


shimmy

shimmy (third-person singular simple present shimmies, present participle shimmying, simple past and past participle shimmied)

shimmies (present singular third-person)
shimmying (participle present)
shimmied (participle past)
shimmied (past)

She wondered would he think her awful, and try to get fresh if she shimmied. Fellows often did. But he was so cute. And a girl had to something about that, and if she didn't shimmy, she might do something worse.

1934, James T. Farrell, chapter 13, in The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan:

(dance) To perform a shimmy (dance movement involving thrusting the shoulders back and forth alternately).


slop

From Middle English slop, sloppe, slope, from Old English *slop (found in oferslop (“an outergarment, surplice”)). Cognate with Icelandic sloppur (“a long, loose gown”).

cog

(obsolete) A loose outer garment; a jacket or overall.


slop

en-noun

slop (countable and uncountable, plural slops)

Probably from Middle English *sloppe (attested in plural form sloppes), representing Old English *sloppe (attested in cū-sloppe), related to slip.

Water or other liquid carelessly spilled or thrown about, as upon a table or a floor; a puddle; a soiled spot.

2023 September 21, Kyle Barr, “YouTube Announces New Tools to Flood Its Platform With AI-Generated Slop”, in Gizmodo, retrieved 2024-05-08:

His post describes a sense of unease, paranoia and loneliness, expressing deep disappointment at the state of the modern internet. He suggests that AI has successfully drowned out the majority of online human activity, reshaping the internet into a more controlled, algorithmic form that exists only to sell products and ideas.

2024 January 16, Dani Di Placido, “The Dead Internet Theory, Explained”, in Forbes.com, retrieved 2024-05-08:

Almost all of the AI-generated slop online is peddled for clicks on social media, not published by major news outlets. These publications still get tripped up, of course, but it's rare.

2024 April 4, Kim Komando, “Don't be fooled by deepfake videos and photos this election cycle. Here's how to spot AI”, in USA Today, retrieved 2024-05-08:

Watching in real time as "slop" becomes a term of art. the way that "spam" became the term for unwanted emails, "slop" is going in the dictionary as the term for unwanted AI generated content

generative artificial intelligence
generative artificial intelligence

Junk output from generative artificial intelligence published on the internet in the guise of legitimate content.


cut in

en-verb

cut in (third-person singular simple present cuts in, present participle cutting in, simple past and past participle cut in)

cuts in (present singular third-person)
cutting in (participle present)
cut in (participle past)
cut in (past)

To join a queue in the middle, as opposed to at the back.

(surfing) To begin riding a wave in front of someone else whose legitimate turn it is.

(idiomatic, dated) To dance with someone who is already dancing by replacing his or her partner.

(transitive, slang) To include; to allow (someone) to participate in something.

(intransitive, slang) To take a share of something; to push one's way into a project, game or plan.


jota

A traditional popular dance of the Iberian peninsula with regional variations.


aplomb

en-noun

aplomb (usually uncountable, plural aplombs)

(ballet) The apparent elegance and precision exhibited by a confident, accomplished dancer.


hasta

A prudent prayer, and a vigorous dance, with many interwoven leaps and twirls and pirouettes, and hastas all around.

2009 January 21, Joe Fiorito, “Tamil dance fine gesture even for our crop of snow”, in Toronto Star:

(Indian classical dance) A hand gesture used to depict the meaning of a song


eurythmics

A rhythmic interpretation of music with graceful, free-style dance movements.


tights

→ Japanese: タイツ (taitsu)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-tights.wav

(dance) A similar, non-sheer garment worn by dancers of either sex, especially by ballet dancers.


Morris

en-proper noun

Morris (countable and uncountable, plural Morrises)

* The surname has converged from several origins; see Morris.

A type of folk dance originating in England.


Argentine

From Old French argentin (“silvery”), from Latin argentum (“silver”).


java

en-noun

java (countable and uncountable, plural javas)

From Java, an island on and near which a particular blend of coffee is made. The US use of the term to refer to any coffee originated in San Francisco, an early center of the US coffee trade.

A blend of coffee imported from the island of Java.

45 have some joe Week's almost over—now bring it home. Austrian researchers found that a cup of java resulted in a 45-minute boost of brain activity in the regions responsible for attention, concentration, and short-term memory.

2008 January–February, “70 Ways to Improve Every Day of the Week”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 1, →ISSN, page 135:


java

The java is the dance of the moment among a certain less desirable crowd, and this prohibition is enough to keep out the desperadoes who foregather every afternoon at the Petit-Balcon dance hall down the street.

2015, Luc Sante, The Other Paris: An illustrated journey through a city's poor and Bohemian past, Faber & Faber, →ISBN:

A dance popular in France in the early 20th century.


fondu

fondu (countable and uncountable, plural fondus)

Borrowed from French fondu (“melted”). Compare fondue.

(ballet) Involving a lowering of the body by bending the knee of the supporting leg.


dance floor

I bet that you look good on the dancefloor / I don't know if you're looking for romance or / I don't know what you're looking for

2005, “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor”, in Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, performed by Arctic Monkeys:

A large floor, usually made of hardwood, used primarily for dancing.