polonaise

[ pol-uh-neyz, poh-luh- ]

/ ˌpɒl əˈneɪz, ˌpoʊ lə- /

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noun

a slow dance of Polish origin, in triple meter, consisting chiefly of a march or promenade in couples.

a piece of music for, or in the rhythm of, such a dance.

Also pol·o·nese

[pol-uh-neez, -nees, poh-luh-]. /ˌpɒl əˈniz, -ˈnis, ˌpoʊ lə-/. a coatlike outer dress, combining bodice and cutaway overskirt, worn in the late 18th century over a separate skirt.

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Origin of polonaise

1765–75; <French, feminine of polonaisPolish, equivalent to Polon- (<Medieval Latin Polonia Poland) + -ais-ese

Words nearby polonaise

pollyfish, polo, polo coat, Polokwane, Polo, Marco, polonaise, polonium, Polonius, Polonize, Polonnaruwa, polony

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use polonaise in a sentence

More of the Chopinesque than in the Polonaise may be discovered in the Introduction, which was less of a piece d'occasion.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician|Frederick Niecks
The A flat major Polonaise (Op. 53), for instance, he could not thunder forth in the way we are accustomed to hear it.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician|Frederick Niecks
There is also a healthy vigour, which, for instance, in the A major Polonaise assumes a brilliantly-heroic form.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician|Frederick Niecks
My cheval de bataille was the Polonaise from Mignon, at the end of which I had introduced some chromatic trills.
Memoirs of an American Prima Donna|Clara Louise Kellogg

Taken as a whole, Felina was a successful part for me; largely on account of that piece of glittering generalities, the Polonaise.
Memoirs of an American Prima Donna|Clara Louise Kellogg

British Dictionary definitions for polonaise

polonaise

/ (ˌpɒləˈneɪz) /

noun

a ceremonial marchlike dance in three-four time from Poland

a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance

a woman's costume with a tight bodice and an overskirt drawn back to show a decorative underskirt

Word Origin for polonaise

C18: from French danse polonaise Polish dance

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