gavotte
Americannoun
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an old French dance in moderately quick quadruple meter.
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a piece of music for, or in the rhythm of, this dance, often forming one of the movements in the classical suite, usually following the saraband.
noun
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an old formal dance in quadruple time
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a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance
Etymology
Origin of gavotte
1690–1700; < French < Provençal gavoto a mountaineer of Provence, a dance of such mountaineers, apparently derivative of gava bird's crop (probably < pre-Latin *gaba throat, crop, goiter), alluding to the prevalence of goiter among the mountaineers
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The moves in this argument are as well-rehearsed as a 17th Century gavotte.
From BBC • Mar. 29, 2015
As if presenting a vast and stately gavotte, the soloists and ensembles moved about the stage, advancing and retreating as they were featured in turn.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 22, 2014
A soppy mum and a pushy dad perform their time-honoured parental gavotte.
From The Guardian • Jul. 11, 2011
It was riveting, and also touching, to see the wiry, bookish Mr. Greilsammer playing Rameau’s delicate gavotte and three of the variations with such tenderness and intimacy.
From New York Times • Feb. 25, 2010
The dance was a gavotte, too spirited for talk.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
