sun dance

noun

a religious ceremony associated with the sun, practiced by North American Indians of the Plains, consisting of dancing attended with various symbolic rites and commonly including self-torture.

Words nearby sun dance

sun belt, sun bittern, sun blind, sun block, sun cream, sun dance, sun deck, sun disc, sun disk, sun gear, sun god

Origin of sun dance

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

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

Examples from the Web for sun dance

The Potlatch was sentiment, and the Sun-dance was an actual poem.
The Log School-House on the Columbia|Hezekiah Butterworth
"Sun-dance," said the Inspector, as near to excitement as he generally allowed himself.
Corporal Cameron|Ralph Connor
The Sun-dance lodge was a circular wooden structure of poles with rafters coming together to a point above.
Policing the Plains|R.G. MacBeth
Then the Modoc Indians got up a sun-dance, and they had to march over to Kedahmina and stop it.
Boys of The Fort|Ralph Bonehill

He had no thought of his presence at the Sun-dance having been detected.
The Watchers of the Plains|Ridgewell Cullum

British Dictionary definitions for sun dance

sun dance

noun

a North American Indian ceremony associated with the sun, performed at the summer solstice

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

sun dance

noun

Content related to sun dance

Words nearby sun dance

Origin of sun dance

Examples from the Web for sun dance

British Dictionary definitions for sun dance

noun