dada
[dah-dah]
- 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.
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Origin of dada
1915–20; < French: hobby horse, childish reduplication of da giddyap
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Dada
Dadaism (ˈdɑːdɑːˌɪzəm)
- 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
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Word Origin
C20: from French, from a children's word for hobbyhorse, the name being arbitrarily chosen
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for dadaism
dada
1920, from French dada "hobbyhorse," child's nonsense word, selected 1916 by Romanian poet Tristan Tzara (1896-1963), leader of the movement, for its resemblance to meaningless babble.
Freedom: DADA DADA DADA, the howl of clashing colors, the intertwining of all contradictions, grotesqueries, trivialities: LIFE. [T. Tzara, "Dada Manifesto," 1918]
Related: Dadaist; Dadaism.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper