dada

American  

[dah-dah] / ˈdɑ dɑ /

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)

1. the style and techniques of a group of artists, writers, etc., of the early 20th century who exploited accidental and incongruous effects in their work and who programmatically challenged established canons of art, thought, morality, etc.

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Dada British  

/ ˈdɑːdɑːˌɪzəm, ˈdɑːdɑː /

noun

1. a nihilistic artistic movement of the early 20th century in W Europe and the US, founded on principles of irrationality, incongruity, and irreverence towards accepted aesthetic criteria

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Other Word Forms

• Dadaist noun
• Dadaistic adjective
• Dadaistically adverb
• dadaism noun
• dadaist noun
• dadaistic adjective
• dadaistically adverb

Etymology

Origin of dada

1915–20; < French: hobby horse, childish reduplication of da giddyap

Example Sentences

In some ways, that is what makes it dada to me.

From Salon

Inspired by the absurdist, avant-garde art movement dada, he became a leading figure of the British comedy scene alongside contemporaries like Alan Bennett, Dudley Moore and Spike Milligan.

From BBC

“There are some question marks around that, but I think her first word might have been ‘dada’ — but when she knew what ‘mama’ and ‘dada’ meant, it was ‘mama,’ ” Dylan said with a chuckle.

From Washington Post

As a result, this specific babbling bent makes "dadas," "babas" and "papas" – along with "apas" and "abas" – very popular things for little Carlos or Keisha to say while hanging out in the crib.

From Salon

I mentioned in the book that I knew two words for as long as I can remember, along with "mama" and "dada."

From Salon