contredanse

[ kon-truh-dans, -dahns; French kawn-truh-dahns ]

/ ˈkɒn trəˌdæns, -ˌdɑns; French kɔ̃ trəˈdɑ̃s /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR contredanse ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural con·tre·dans·es [kon-truh-dan-siz, -dahn-; French kawn-truh dahns] /ˈkɒn trəˌdæn sɪz, -ˌdɑn-; French kɔ̃ˈtrədɑ̃s/.

a variation of the quadrille in which the dancers face each other.

a piece of music suitable for such a dance.

RELATED WORDS

hoedown

Nearby words

contrayerva, contre-jour, contre-partie, contrecoup, contrecoup injury of brain, contredanse, contretemps, contrib., contribute, contribution, contributor

Also contradance.

Origin of contredanse

1795–1805; < French, equivalent to contre- counter- + danse dance, misrendering of English country-dance, by association with the characteristic arrangement of dancers in rows facing each other

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

Examples from the Web for contredanse

The contredanse represented was originally the old country dance exported to France and returned with certain arrangements added.
The Dance (by An Antiquary)|Anonymous
Contredanse is the French original, and means that the parties stand opposite to each other.
Every-Day Errors of Speech|L. P. Meredith
The French contredanse was borrowed from the English country-dance.
English Past and Present|Richard Chevenix Trench
Flocks of old gulls, enormous as hens, fluttered with evolutions like a contredanse upon its glossy surface.
The Dead Command|Vicente Blasco Ibez

"Amidst more youthful engagements, don't forget you are engaged to me for a contredanse," she said.
Miles Tremenhere, Vol 2 of 2|Annette Marie Maillard

British Dictionary definitions for contredanse

contredanse

contradance

/ (ˈkɒntrəˌdɑːns) /

noun

a courtly Continental version of the English country dance, similar to the quadrille

music written for or in the rhythm of this dance

Word Origin for contredanse

C19: from French, changed from English country dance; country altered to French contre (opposite) by folk etymology (because the dancers face each other)

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