rigadoon

[ rig-uh-doon ]

/ ˌrɪg əˈdun /

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noun

a lively dance, formerly popular, for one couple, characterized by a jumping step and usually in quick duple meter.

a piece of music for this dance or in its rhythm.

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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. 2023

How to use rigadoon in a sentence

The first dance was the stately rigodon, which is almost the only square dance used here.
A Woman's Impression of the Philippines|Mary H. (Mary Helen) Fee
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.
The Spell of the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines|Isabel Anderson
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

British Dictionary definitions for rigadoon

rigadoon

rigaudon (French riɡodɔ̃)

/ (ˌrɪɡəˈduːn) /

noun

an old Provençal couple dance, light and graceful, in lively duple time

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

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