quadrille

[ kwo-dril, kwuh-, kuh- ]

/ kwɒˈdrɪl, kwə-, kə- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR quadrille ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a square dance for four couples, consisting of five parts or movements, each complete in itself.

the music for such a dance.

RELATED WORDS

hoedown

Nearby words

quadrigeminal rhythm, quadrigeminum, quadrilateral, quadrilingual, quadriliteral, quadrille, quadrillion, quadrinomial, quadriparesis, quadripartite, quadripedal extensor reflex

Origin of quadrille

1730–40; < French < Spanish cuadrilla company, troop, diminutive of cuadra square < Latin quadra

Definition for quadrille (2 of 3)

quadrille

[ kwo-dril, kwuh-, kuh- ]

/ kwɒˈdrɪl, kwə-, kə- /

noun

a card game played by four persons.

Origin of quadrille

1720–30; < French < Spanish cuartillo, diminutive of cuarto fourth < Latin quartus

Definition for quadrille (3 of 3)

quadrille

[ kwo-dril, kwuh-, kuh- ]

/ kwɒˈdrɪl, kwə-, kə- /

adjective

ruled in squares, as graph paper.

Origin of quadrille

1880–85; < French quadrillé, past participle of quadriller to rule in squares, derivative of quadrille lozenge < Spanish cuadrilla; see quadrille¹

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

Examples from the Web for quadrille

I engage Madeleine for the first quadrille, and Bertha for the first waltz.
Fairy Fingers|Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie
I will send you your quadrille tables by the first opportunity, consigned to the care of Mr. Mathias here.
The PG Edition of Chesterfield's Letters to His Son|The Earl of Chesterfield
And in that quadrille Crofts and Bell had been dancing together, and they also had been talking of Lily's marriage.
The Small House at Allington|Anthony Trollope
Manille, ma-nil′, n. in ombre and quadrille, the highest card but one.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)|Various

On these occasions, a carpet cotillon or quadrille has been sometimes indulged in; but it was the exception and not the rule.
She and I, Volume 1|John Conroy Hutcheson

British Dictionary definitions for quadrille (1 of 2)

quadrille

/ (kwɒˈdrɪl, kwə-) /

noun

a square dance of five or more figures for four or more couples

a piece of music for such a dance, alternating between simple duple and compound duple time

Word Origin for quadrille

C18: via French from Spanish cuadrilla, diminutive of cuadro square, from Latin quadra

British Dictionary definitions for quadrille (2 of 2)

quadrille

/ (kwɒˈdrɪl, kwə-) /

noun

an old card game for four players

Word Origin for quadrille

C18: from French, from Spanish cuartillo, from cuarto fourth, from Latin quartus, influenced by quadrille 1

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