jota

[ hoh-tuh; Spanish haw-tah ]

/ ˈhoʊ tə; Spanish ˈhɔ tɑ /

noun, plural jo·tas [hoh-tuh z; Spanish haw-tahs] /ˈhoʊ təz; Spanish ˈhɔ tɑs/.

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.

Nearby words

joss stick, josser, jostle, josue, jot, jota, jotter, jotting, jotun, jotunheim, joual

Origin of jota

1840–50; < Spanish, probably Old Spanish sota dance, derivative of sotar to dance < Latin saltāre

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for jota

At these tertulia, or evening parties, singing alternates with dancing the bolero and the jota.
Southern Spain|A.F. Calvert
We asked Don Luis to play the jota again, and to it we danced a rather mad waltz which we had invented.
Poor Folk in Spain|Jan Gordon
The jota that evening appeared to be a very sedate kind of dance.
Poor Folk in Spain|Jan Gordon
"And those great giant figures dancing the jota all the time the procession was moving," said Mary Lee.
The Four Corners Abroad|Amy Ella Blanchard

The nice articulation of our jota and zeta, which are embarrassing to strangers, is even more astonishing.
The Dust of Conflict|David Goodger (goodger@python.org)

British Dictionary definitions for jota

jota

/ (Spanish ˈxɔta) /

noun

a Spanish dance with castanets in fast triple time, usually to a guitar and voice accompaniment

Word Origin for jota

Spanish, probably modification of Old Spanish sota, from sotar to dance, from Latin saltāre

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012