ring shout

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noun

a group dance of West African origin introduced into parts of the southern U.S. by Black revivalists, performed by shuffling counterclockwise in a circle while answering shouts of a preacher with corresponding shouts, and held to be, in its vigorous antiphonal patterns, a source in the development of jazz.

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Origin of ring shout

An Americanism dating back to 1930–35

Words nearby ring shout

ring-porous, ring road, ring rot, ringsail, ring scotoma, ring shout, ringside, ringsider, ringside seat, ring snake, Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes

How to use ring shout in a sentence

A lot of people ring in the New Year with vows to lose weight and exercise.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
These brave souls took an icy dip in the ocean to ring in 2015 and raise money for charity.
Diving Into 2015 With Polar Bear Plunge Extremists|James Joiner|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Some things never change as we wring out the old year and ring in the new one.
New Year’s Eve, Babylon Style|Candida Moss|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He did not shout “God is great,” but his random act served the purposes of ISIS almost as well.
France’s Wave of Crazy-Terror Christmas Attacks|Christopher Dickey|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

What was this human being fighting for everywhere but inside a ring?
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind|Brin-Jonathan Butler|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When Yima pressed the earth with this ring, the genius of the Earth, Aramaîti, responded to his wish and order.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
I plainly heard a noise upon the cover of my closet like that of a cable, and the grating of it as it passed through the ring.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
I desired the captain would please to accept this ring in return of his civilities, which he absolutely refused.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
She did shout for joy, as with a sweeping stroke or two she lifted her body to the surface of the water.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Whoever succeeded in getting the ring on his stick won the game, and carried the prize home as a sign of victory.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike

British Dictionary definitions for ring shout

ring-shout

noun

a West African circle dance that has influenced jazz, surviving in the Black churches of the southern US

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