cancan

American  

[kan-kan] / ˈkænˌkæn /

noun

1. a lively high kicking dance that came into vogue about 1830 in Paris and after 1844 was used as an exhibition dance.

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cancan British  

/ ˈkænˌkæn /

noun

1. a high-kicking dance performed by a female chorus, originating in the music halls of 19th-century Paris

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Etymology

Origin of cancan

1840–50; < French, repetitive compound (based on can ) said to be nursery variant of canard duck; canard

Example Sentences

Arquette talks about the Apple TV+ comedy series in which she plays a former addict and cancan dancer who decides to become a private investigator.

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2023

Exuberant cancan melodies from the film soundtracks filtered through the galleries, seeming to animate Lautrec’s imagery.

From Washington Post • Nov. 11, 2019

Before the giant ape and the cancan chorus, before the daydreaming misfit and the defiant dancer, before even the dinosaurs and the dragons, first there were the RVs.

From New York Times • Jul. 5, 2018

Some mantises evolved to look like showy blossoms, a cancan of deadly come-ons.

From New York Times • Sep. 22, 2017

And, bouncing out of her chair, she began sketching out one of those bold cancan steps which astound the policemen on duty in the ball-rooms.

From Other People's Money by Gaboriau, Émile