bolero
[buh-lair-oh, boh-]
- a lively Spanish dance in triple meter.
- the music for this dance.
- a jacket ending above or at the waistline, with or without collar, lapel, and sleeves, worn open in front.
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Origin of bolero
Borrowed into English from Spanish around 1780–90
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for bolero
Contemporary Examples
Pieces thus far include pink and ivory tulle dresses with a bolero and Swarovski crystals, sold at $1200 each.
Heidi Klum's Costume is One for the Ages; Jean Paul Gaultier Launches Children's Couture LineThe Fashion Beast Team
November 1, 2013
The costumes will take the stage when Bolero bows at the Palais Garnier on May 2.
Karl Lagerfeld and Keira Knightley’s New Film; Tilda Swinton May Dress as David BowieThe Fashion Beast Team
March 19, 2013
There's a bolero I designed this season that looks like it's made of leaves.
Historical Examples
The prior's a trump, and as for the bolero, he would dance it.
Charles O'Malley, The Irish Dragoon, Volume 2 (of 2)Charles Lever
"I should like to have seen that prior dancing the bolero," said Power.
Charles O'Malley, The Irish Dragoon, Volume 2 (of 2)Charles Lever
Chopin's Bolero, Op. 19, may be described as a Bolero a la polonaise.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and MusicianFrederick Niecks
I said the Bolero was published four years before his visit to Spain.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and MusicianFrederick Niecks
The Touissaints have introduced the bolero, and dance charmingly.
A Five Years' Residence in Buenos AyresGeorge Thomas Love
bolero
- a Spanish dance, often accompanied by the guitar and castanets, usually in triple time
- a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance
- (also ˈbɒlərəʊ) a kind of short jacket not reaching the waist, with or without sleeves and open at the front: worn by men in Spain and by women elsewhere
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Word Origin
C18: from Spanish; perhaps related to bola ball
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for bolero
n.
kind of Spanish dance, 1787, from Spanish, probably from bola "ball" (and perhaps with reference to "whirling motion"), from Latin bulla (see bull (n.2)). In reference to a type of short jacket, it is recorded by 1864.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper