Meanings
plural milongas
- countableuncountableentertainmentA form of music originating in Argentina, Uruguay, and Southern Brazil.
In “Gath & Chaves,” a section named after a department store, women pose as mannequins but come to life to dance a tango, a waltz, a milonga and, finally, a mystifying number called “Hound Dog.”
2007 January 26, Gia Kourlas, “Watching a History Lesson That’s Told Through Tango”, in New York Times - countableuncountabledanceA dance which accompanies this music.
Origin
- Brazilian Portuguesemilonga“chant”
- Spanishmilonga
- Englishmilonga
Borrowed from Spanish milonga, in turn from Brazilian Portuguese milonga (“chant”). Theories connect the word to the nineteenth century slave trade between South America and Africa. The ultimate source is unknown, but may relate to Kimbundu mulonga (“word”), or Kongo nlonga or Punu mulonga (“line, row”) in reference to dancers.
More words from Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
milonga. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/milonga
“milonga.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/milonga. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “milonga,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/milonga.
Source: milonga on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.