minuet

American  

[min-yoo-et] / ˌmɪn yuˈɛt /

noun

1. a slow, stately dance in triple meter, popular in the 17th and 18th centuries.

2. a piece of music for such a dance or in its rhythm.

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minuet British  

/ ˌmɪnjʊˈɛt /

noun

1. a stately court dance of the 17th and 18th centuries in triple time

2. a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance, sometimes as a movement in a suite, sonata, or symphony See also scherzo

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Etymology

Origin of minuet

1665–75; < French menuet, equivalent to menu small ( see menu) + -et -et; so called from the shortness of the dancers' steps

Explanation

A minuet is a 17th-century court dance. It's also the music that goes with that dance. The minuet is a fancy, stately dance from the 17th century performed by members of a court. Two people dance a minuet, and it’s performed in triple time. Throughout 17th century Europe, the minuet was extremely popular. A minuet can also be the music that accompanied the dance.

Example Sentences

He has discontinued the elbowing, apparently, while sustaining that courtside calm, still looking out there with fascination at the same minuet after 52 years of coaching.

From Washington Post • Mar. 30, 2023

Boeing has agreed to greatly improve its Remote Vision System, 3D cameras that feed a console where an airman guides a refueling boom during the midair minuet to connect with another plane.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 20, 2022

The same might one day be said about Mr. Musk, though it sure would be fun to watch him break a horse or dance a minuet.

From Washington Times • Apr. 28, 2022

Playing parlor games, dancing the minuet, making snide comments — aristocrats sure do know how to party.

From New York Times • Feb. 21, 2022

I struck up a pretty minuet and watched through my sliver of the doorway as they all entered, my preceptor among them, and sat around the table.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson