dance

noun
/dɑːns//dæns/US

Etymology

Etymology tree Vulgar Latin *dantiāreder. Anglo-Norman dauncerbor. Middle English dauncen English dance From Middle English dauncen, from Anglo-Norman dauncer, from Vulgar Latin *dantiāre, of uncertain origin. Displaced Old English sealtian, and partially displaced Old English hlēapan (“to leap, dance, run”) (whence modern leap). Doublet of danza.

  1. derived from *dantiāre
  2. derived from dancier
  3. inherited from dauncen

Definitions

  1. A sequence of rhythmic steps or movements usually performed to music, for pleasure or as…

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

    • I do a dance when she plays the drums!
    • He does the Fortnite dance with his friends in school.
  2. A social gathering where dancing is the main activity.

    • The dance we had in August 2008 is one of the greatest moments of my life!
  3. The art, profession, and study of dancing.

  4. + 14 more definitions
    1. Ellipsis of electronic dance music.

    2. A piece of music with a particular dance rhythm.

    3. A battle of wits, especially one commonly fought between two rivals.

      • So how much longer are we gonna do this dance?
    4. Any strenuous or difficult movement, action, or task.

    5. A repetitive movement used in communication between worker honey bees.

      • 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.
    6. To move with rhythmic steps or movements, especially in time to music.

      • 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.
    7. To leap or move lightly and rapidly.

      • His eyes danced with pleasure as he spoke. She accused her political opponent of dancing around the issue instead of confronting it.
      • And woods along the banks are waving high, / Whose shadows in the glassy waters dance,
      • A common and beautiful side-effect of high solar activity is the Aurora Borealis - the northern lights that dance across Arctic skies.
    8. To perform the steps to.

      • Have you ever danced the tango?
    9. To cause to dance, or move nimbly or merrily about.

      • Met we on hill, in dale, forest, or mead, By pavèd fountain, or by rushy brook, or in the beachèd margent of the sea, To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind, But with thy brawls thou hast disturbed our sport.
      • Thy grandsire loved thee well; / Many a time he danced thee on his knee.
    10. To make love or have sex.

      • You make me feel like dancing.
    11. To make a repetitive movement in order to communicate to other worker honey bees.

      • 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.
    12. To kick and convulse from the effects of being hanged.

      • Simon had seen other men executed at Berkeley, both in the castle and outside in the village. They were usually strung up like rats, left to dance, their death throes sometimes seeming to last forever.
    13. A normally horizontal stripe called a fess that has been modified to zig-zag across the…

      A normally horizontal stripe called a fess that has been modified to zig-zag across the center of a coat of arms from dexter to sinister.

      • The fact appears to have been that Simon de Montacute bore two coats; the one, Argent, three fusils, which it is most probable was a corruption of a fess dancette, or a dance, Gules; and the other, Azure, a griffin segreant[…]
      • It is as follows - being headed by a shield of arms in colours - gold with a dance gules between three croslets fitchy gules.
      • Or, a dance gules, in chief 3 lions' faces sable.
    14. A surname.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at dance. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01dance02gathering03stacked04stack05computing06programming07ballet

A definitional loop anchored at dance. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

7 hops · closes at dance

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA