Etymology

dance

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Today it means: A sequence of rhythmic steps or movements usually performed to music, for pleasure or as a form of social interaction. Full definition →

Middle English dauncen ← Anglo-Norman dauncer ← Vulgar Latin *dantiāre
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dance · noun, verb1

  1. Vulgar Latin*dantiāre
  2. Anglo-Normandauncer
  3. Middle Englishdauncen
  4. English todaydance

Inherited from Middle English dauncen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman dauncer, from Vulgar Latin *dantiāre, of uncertain origin. Displaced native Old English sealtian, Old English frīcian, and partially displaced Old English hlēapan (“to leap, dance, run”, whence modern leap). Doublet of danza.

dance · noun2

Related to dancy, dancetté, French danché.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.