czardas

American  

[chahr-dahsh] / ˈtʃɑr dɑʃ /

Or csardas

noun

1. a Hungarian national dance in two movements, one slow and the other fast.

---

czardas British  

/ ˈtʃɑːdæʃ /

noun

1. a Hungarian national dance of alternating slow and fast sections

2. a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance

---

Etymology

Origin of czardas

First recorded in 1855–60; from Hungarian csárdás, equivalent to csárda “wayside tavern” (from Serbo-Croatian čȁrdāk originally, “watchtower,” from Turkish çardak “bower, booth, pergola,” from Persian chārtāk “four-cornered room”; čār “four” + tāk “vault”) + -s adjective suffix; earlier csárdák was analyzed as csárda + -k plural suffix

Example Sentences

He is visionary and vastly entertaining; he even hoofs, far too briefly, a thrilling, thumping czardas.

From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2018

Orchester Prazevica The music of Slovak guitarist Tomas Drgon’s string combo mixes Eastern European czardas, Gypsy swing and jazz.

From Washington Post • Oct. 4, 2016

Bebe Neuwirth was a classy host in a sparkling jeweled choker who wittily commented on her script, ad-libbed and did a snatch of the czardas from “Coppélia” in her Manolos.

From New York Times • Oct. 25, 2011

Prima Donna Gladys Baxter has a bounteous voice and sings a czardas with considerable fire.

From Time Magazine Archive

But now you shall hear p. 75the racoczy and the czardas as you never heard them before. 

From The Gypsies by Leland, Charles Godfrey