chassé

[sha-sey or, esp. in square dancing, sa-shey]Dance.

noun

a gliding step in which one foot is kept in advance of the other.

verb (used without object), chas·séd, chas·sé·ing.

to execute a chassé.

Origin of chassé

1795–1805; < French: literally, chased, followed, past participle of chasser to chase¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for chasse

Historical Examples of chasse

Yes, my dear cousin, you possess a part right over Chasse Loups.
Sir Jasper Carew
Charles James Lever
Hang it, thought I, have they gone off to the chasse without me?
Arthur O'Leary
Charles James Lever
“It is why I asked for my transfer to chasse,” he told me afterward.
High Adventure
James Norman Hall
We were soon convinced, however, that the lugger in sight was a chasse marée.
Salt Water
W. H. G. Kingston
Then half a bottle of red wine, a demi-syphon, and a caf and chasse.
Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 109, September 7, 1895
Various

British Dictionary definitions for chasse

chassé

noun

one of a series of gliding steps in ballet in which the same foot always leads
three consecutive dance steps, two fast and one slow, to four beats of music

verb -sés, -séing or -séd

(intr) to perform either of these steps

Word Origin for chassé

C19: from French: a chasing

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 chasse

from French chassé "chase, chasing," past participle of chasser "to chase, hunt" (see chase (v.)); borrowed 19c. in a variety of senses and expressions, such as "chaser" (in the drinking sense), short for chasse-café, literally "coffee-chaser." Also as a dance step (1867).