strathspey

American  

[strath-spey, strath-spey] / ˌstræθˈspeɪ, ˈstræθˌspeɪ /

noun

1. a slow Scottish dance in quadruple meter.

2. the music for this dance.

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strathspey British  

/ ˌstræθˈspeɪ /

noun

1. a Scottish dance with gliding steps, slower than a reel

2. a piece of music in four-four time composed for this dance

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Etymology

Origin of strathspey

First recorded in 1645–55; after Strath Spey, the valley of the river Spey in Scotland

Example Sentences

There was quite a large company there, very well employed in practicing the steps of a new strathspey, and others in exhibiting their special bits of splendor.

From Christine A Fife Fisher Girl by Barr, Amelia Edith Huddleston

Something of the lilt of a Scotch strathspey to 't, shouldn't you say?

From Wide Courses by Connolly, James B. (James Brendan)

“Take down your fiddle, Findlayson, and play a rattling strathspey or reel, that’ll cheer me up more wholesomely than any amount of ‘wee drappies.’”

From From Squire to Squatter A Tale of the Old Land and the New by Stables, Gordon

He was self-taught, and truly the sweetness and precision with which he played every note and trill of the rapid reel and strathspey might have made Neil Gow himself envious.

From Hudson Bay by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)

Donaldson sat on a log, contentedly smoking his pipe, while Ringan, whistling a strathspey, attended to the horses.

From Salute to Adventurers by Buchan, John