czardas

or csar·das

[ chahr-dahsh ]

noun

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

czardas

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of czardas¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of czardas¹

from Hungarian csárdás

Example Sentences

The motif occurred in the middle of the overture, directly after the czardas.

From Project Gutenberg

A vicious swirl of colour and dizzy, dislocated rhythms prefaced the incantations of the Czardas.

From Project Gutenberg

To follow: poulet saut l'Hongroise, the clash of the Czardas captured and imprisoned in a stew-pan.

From Project Gutenberg

To die eating salad on the banks of the Danube to the wail of the Czardas—that would be the true death!

From Project Gutenberg

Had the strings of the bows played these czardas upon his own sinews, laid bare, he would not have trembled more violently.

From Project Gutenberg