Meanings
nounrain dance (plural rain dances)
plural rain dances
- A ceremonial dance intended to provoke rain.
The women stripped naked and took part in a rain-dance, a girl being chosen for the sacrificial victim.
1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 180 - broadlyclimatologyAny sequence of actions performed in order to provoke rain.
- broadlyAny sequence of arbitrary actions performed in order to achieve a goal.
Translations
Finnish sadetanssi
- sadetanssiceremonial dance intended to provoke rain
French danse de la pluie
- danse de la pluieceremonial dance intended to provoke rain
German Regentanz
- Regentanzceremonial dance intended to provoke rain
Hungarian esőtánc
- esőtáncceremonial dance intended to provoke rain
Polish taniec deszczu
- taniec deszczuceremonial dance intended to provoke rain
Portuguese dança da chuva
- dança da chuvaceremonial dance intended to provoke rain
Cite this entry
APA
rain dance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rain%20dance
MLA
“rain dance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rain%20dance. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rain dance,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rain%20dance.
Source: rain dance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.