fouetté

American  

[fwe-tey] / fwɛˈteɪ /

noun

Ballet.

plural

fouettés

1. a whipping movement of the free leg, often executed during a turn.

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fouetté British  

/ fwete /

noun

1. a step in ballet in which the dancer stands on one foot and makes a whiplike movement with the other

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Etymology

Origin of fouetté

1820–30; < French, past participle of fouetter to whip

Example Sentences

In Eliot’s book, Mr. Mistoffelees is a precious creation; in the musical, he is a gay icon, bedazzled like the night sky, sometimes pulling off twenty-four fouetté turns in a row.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 16, 2019

Arabesque, fouetté turn, soulful liquid melt to the mat with her arms outstretched.

From Slate • Jul. 23, 2018

And the famous feat of fouetté turns by the dozen gave her even less trouble than they had Ms. Fairchild.

From New York Times • Sep. 28, 2017

But given his skill and my incompetence, this was like a ballerina demonstrating a fouetté for a toddler with a broken leg.

From The Guardian • Sep. 17, 2017

And there was a small group of Marines, a little uncomfortable in their suits, ready to watch the story of their lives told onstage through incomprehensible grand jeté, fouetté en tournant and chassé.

From Washington Post