courante

[ koo-rahnt; French koo-rahnt ]

/ kʊˈrɑnt; French kuˈrɑ̃t /

noun, plural cou·rantes [koo-rahnts; French koo-rahnt] /kʊˈrɑnts; French kuˈrɑ̃t/.

a dance dating back to the 17th century and characterized by a running or gliding step.

a piece of music for or suited to this dance.

Music. a movement following the allemande in the classical suite.

Nearby words

Also courant.

Origin of courante

1580–90; < Middle French; literally, running, feminine present participle of courir to run; cf. current

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

Examples from the Web for courante

After the Pavane came the Courante, a court dance performed on tiptoe with slightly jumping steps and many bows and curtseys.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9|Various
A French courante differed from the Italian, and certain dances were taken at different tempi in different countries.
Critical & Historical Essays|Edward MacDowell
The Courante is one of the most important of the strictly modern dances.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9|Various
It was originally a branle of Poitou, derived from the Courante.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9|Various

That thought had been growing, and the gavotte, the courante, the pavane becoming rehearsals.
The Confounding of Camelia|Anne Douglas Sedgwick

British Dictionary definitions for courante

courante

/ (kʊˈrɑːnt) /

noun music

an old dance in quick triple time

a movement of a (mostly) 16th- to 18th-century suite based on this

Also called (esp for the dance): coranto

Word Origin for courante

C16: from French, literally: running, feminine of courant, present participle of courir to run, from Latin currere

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