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.

---

cancan British  

/ ˈkænˌkæn /

noun

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

---

Etymology

Origin of cancan

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

Example Sentences

It is relatively quiet — Picasso would also paint cancan dancers, but not now — a suave, sophisticated crowd painted by an artist who understood its fashions, body language and interpersonal connections perfectly.

From New York 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

It gets increasingly crazy and ends with everyone doing Offenbach’s famous crazy cancan.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2019

Brown said, doing a one-legged cancan kick to prove it.

From Slate • Jan. 12, 2017

I did not learn the cancan, but I did learn the fandango, the czardas, and the Highland fling, with many another national dance.

From 'O Thou, My Austria!' by Schubin, Ossip