Etymology

allemande left

Today it means: Move in which two facing dancers take left hands or forearms, turn halfway around to the left, let go, and step forward. Full definition →

French allemande
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The story

  1. French · derived fromallemande“German”
  2. English todayallemande left

From French allemande (“German”) + left. Contrary to some folk etymologies, this term does not come from the phrase a la main (“by the hand”).

Words from the same roots

Frenchallemande all →

allemande

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.