mazurka

or ma·zour·ka

[muh-zur-kuh, -zoo r-]

noun

a lively Polish dance in moderately quick triple meter.

music for, or in the rhythm of, this dance.

Origin of mazurka

1810–20; < Polish, equivalent to Mazur Mazovia (district in northern Poland) + -ka noun suffix

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

Examples from the Web for mazurka

Historical Examples of mazurka

And now the mazurka came to an end and we separated—until we should meet again.
A Hero of Our Time
M. Y. Lermontov
"I shall sleep badly to-night," she said to me when the mazurka was over.
A Hero of Our Time
M. Y. Lermontov
The mazurka had just finished, and the dancers were breaking into groups.
The Christian
Hall Caine
They came from Peru, and danced the mazurka in green jackets with a jabot.
The Young Duke
Benjamin Disraeli
She played also a Mazurka by Schulhoff, and one or two other pieces.
Three Months Abroad
Anna Vivanti

British Dictionary definitions for mazurka

mazurka

mazourka

noun

a Polish national dance in triple time

a piece of music composed for this dance

Word Origin for mazurka

C19: from Polish: (dance) of Mazur (Mazovia) province in Poland

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

Word Origin and History for mazurka

lively dance, also mazourka, 1818, from Russian mazurka, from Polish mazurek "dance of the Mazur," a reference to inhabitants of Mazowsze (Medieval Latin Mazovia), ancient region in central Poland. The Polish accusative in tanczyc mazurka "to dance the mazurek" was interpreted in Russian as a feminine affix, hence the -ka ending.