Etymology

breakdance

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Today it means: The art, or an instance, of breakdancing. Full definition →

English dance ← Middle English dauncen ← Anglo-Norman dauncer
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰreg-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰrégeti
  3. Proto-Germanic*brekaną
  4. Proto-West Germanic*brekan
  5. Old Englishbrecan
  6. Middle Englishbreken
  7. Englishbreak
  8. Vulgar Latin*dantiāre
  9. Anglo-Normandauncer
  10. Middle Englishdauncen
  11. Englishdance
  12. English todaybreakdance

From break + dance, in reference to the instrumental break sections of music.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.