bolero

[buh-lair-oh, boh-]

noun, plural bo·le·ros.

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.

Origin of bolero

Borrowed into English from Spanish around 1780–90

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bolero

Contemporary Examples of bolero

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 Line
The 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 Bowie
The Fashion Beast Team
March 19, 2013
There's a bolero I designed this season that looks like it's made of leaves.
The Rise and Rise of L'Wren Scott
Merle Ginsberg
March 18, 2009

Historical Examples of bolero

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 Musician
Frederick Niecks
I said the Bolero was published four years before his visit to Spain.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician
Frederick Niecks
The Touissaints have introduced the bolero, and dance charmingly.
A Five Years' Residence in Buenos Ayres
George Thomas Love

British Dictionary definitions for bolero

bolero

noun plural -ros

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

Word Origin for bolero

C18: from Spanish; perhaps related to bola ball

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bolero

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.