jota
Americannoun
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a Spanish dance in triple meter, performed by a couple and marked by complex rhythms executed with the heels and castanets.
-
the music for this dance.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of jota
1840–50; < Spanish, probably Old Spanish sota dance, derivative of sotar to dance < Latin saltāre
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“We danced a jota — that was a country dance. And we played castanets. My mom let me put on lipstick — I was so thrilled.”
From New York Times • Jun. 25, 2021
Children grow up learning to dance the jota and boleros and to play works by Mozart and Stravinsky, with flamenco coursing through their veins as well.
From New York Times • Jun. 19, 2014
Falla's score is a gem, and the orchestra zipped through its fandangos, seguidillas and final jota in solid but sparkling style.
From The Guardian • Jul. 26, 2013
Yet Jiménez built a tough, aggressive side, created unity and promised to dance a jota in front of Zaragoza's Pilar Cathedral if they survived.
From The Guardian • May 29, 2012
The accent of its measure, the jota, was at once perceptible and immaterial; and overwhelmingly, through its magic of suggestion, a blinding vision of his own youth—so different from Howard’s—swept over Charles Abbott.
From The Bright Shawl by Hergesheimer, Joseph
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
