allemande

American  

[al-uh-mand, -mahnd, al-uh-mand, al-uh-mahnd, al^uh-mahnd] / ˈæl əˌmænd, -ˌmɑnd, ˌæl əˈmænd, ˌæl əˈmɑnd, aləˈmɑ̃d /

noun

plural

allemandes

1. a 17th- and 18th-century dance in slow duple time.

2. a piece of music based on its rhythm, often following the prelude in the classical suite.

3. a figure performed in a quadrille.

4. a German folk dance in triple meter, similar to the ländler.

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allemande British  

/ almɑ̃d, ˈælɪmænd /

noun

1. the first movement of the classical suite, composed in a moderate tempo in a time signature of four-four

2. any of several German dances

3. a figure in country dancing or square dancing by means of which couples change position in the set

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Etymology

Origin of allemande

1675–85; < French, short for danse allemande German dance

Example Sentences

We square dancers had to cancel our whole season — you can’t very well social-distance while doing the allemande and do-si-do.

From Washington Post • May 7, 2020

The strains of an orchestra wafted up to us, a slow allemande.

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

It was like square-dancing on Hee Haw, except with mostly girls running around from group to group calling out the allemande lefts and dos-si-dos.

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Then we were off, Char naming each dance: a gavotte, a slow sarabande, a courante, an allemande.

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

Après la déclaration de l'Ambassadeur d'Allemagne à St.-Pétersbourg concernant la mobilisation allemande, ces rapports avaient changé et sa demande avait reçu de Votre part la seule réponse que pouvait donner une grande Puissance.

From Why We Are at War (2nd Edition, revised) by University of Oxford. Faculty of Modern History