Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

rigadoon

[rig-uh-doon]
noun
  1. a lively dance, formerly popular, for one couple, characterized by a jumping step and usually in quick duple meter.
  2. a piece of music for this dance or in its rhythm.
Show More
Also rigaudon, rig·o·don [rig-uh-don] /ˌrɪg əˈdɒn/.

Origin of rigadoon

1685–95; < French rigaudon, perhaps from name Rigaud
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for rigodon

Historical Examples of rigodon

  • The first and also the last number of every Filipino dance of any formality is the “rigodon.”

    An Epoch in History

    P. H. Eley

  • At that moment it was his turn to figure in the rigodon, and he went off with Emilita.

    The Grandee

    Armando Palacio Valds

  • But the rigodon was over and the little group was augmented by the arrival of several other couples.

    The Grandee

    Armando Palacio Valds

  • After most of the guests had arrived, there was a rigodon of honour, in which all took part.

British Dictionary definitions for rigodon

rigadoon

rigaudon (French riɡodɔ̃)

noun
  1. an old Provençal couple dance, light and graceful, in lively duple time
  2. a piece of music for or in the rhythm of this dance
Show More

Word Origin for rigadoon

C17: from French, allegedly from its inventor Rigaud, a dancing master at Marseille
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