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
Examples from the Web for dadaist
Contemporary Examples of dadaist
The subversive, Dadaist voice became more wacky uncle than bull in the china shop.
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 for Dada
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 dadaist
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