czardas

American  

[chahr-dahsh] / ˈtʃɑr dɑʃ /

Or csardas

noun

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

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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

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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

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

What mazurka and what czardas are more irresistible than those here?

From New York Times • Jun. 1, 2014

And in “Cortège Hongrois,” set to music from Glazunov’s “Raymonda,” Mikayla Lambert and Mr. Farley led the classical couples, while Christina Ghiardi and Mr. Coll fronted the lively czardas group.

From New York Times • Jun. 7, 2012

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

From Time Magazine Archive

As the czardas quickened until its pace reached the speed of a whirlwind, de Savignac suddenly staggered to his feet—his breath coming in short gasps.

From A Village of Vagabonds by Smith, F. Berkeley (Frank Berkeley)