dada

[dah-dah]

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)

1. the style and techniques of a group of artists, writers, etc., of the early 20th century who exploited accidental and incongruous effects in their work and who programmatically challenged established canons of art, thought, morality, etc.

Dada

/ ˈdɑːdɑːˌɪzəm, ˈdɑːdɑː /

noun

1. a nihilistic artistic movement of the early 20th century in W Europe and the US, founded on principles of irrationality, incongruity, and irreverence towards accepted aesthetic criteria

Other Word Forms

• Dadaistic adjective
• Dadaistically adverb
• Dadaist noun
• dadaism noun
• dadaist noun
• dadaistic adjective
• dadaistically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of Dada¹

1915–20; < French: hobby horse, childish reduplication of da giddyap

Word History and Origins

Origin of Dada¹

C20: from French, from a children's word for hobbyhorse, the name being arbitrarily chosen

Example Sentences

In some ways, that is what makes it dada to me.

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Inspired by the absurdist, avant-garde art movement dada, he became a leading figure of the British comedy scene alongside contemporaries like Alan Bennett, Dudley Moore and Spike Milligan.

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“There are some question marks around that, but I think her first word might have been ‘dada’ — but when she knew what ‘mama’ and ‘dada’ meant, it was ‘mama,’ ” Dylan said with a chuckle.

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As a result, this specific babbling bent makes "dadas," "babas" and "papas" – along with "apas" and "abas" – very popular things for little Carlos or Keisha to say while hanging out in the crib.

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I mentioned in the book that I knew two words for as long as I can remember, along with "mama" and "dada."

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