The air to which the galliard was danced. Obsolete.

A slow dance of Italian origin in 2/4 time, related to the pavane; a piece of music for this.

A piece of music written for this dance. In later use also: a piece of music written in the same rhythm or style as that used for a pavane, or…

= passamezzo, n. Frequently attributive and in plural, esp. in passy-measures pavane.

Chiefly Scottish. A lively, noisy, or irregular tune or song, esp. a lively dance tune.

A slow musical composition written in triple time, usually consisting of continuous variations over a ground bass. Also: an early kind of Spanish…

= passacaglia, n.

An obsolete dance, or the music to which it was danced, moderately slow, and usually in 3–4 time. ‘The chaconne served as finale to a ballet or…

The music to which this dance may be performed; esp. a lively dance tune in 2/4 time.

A dance in triple time resembling a lively minuet; a piece of music for this dance.

= rigadoon, n. 2.

A musical composition, written usually in duple rhythm and in two-measure phrases, in which the character of the lively dance so named is represented.

a popular variety of minuet. Now historical.

A piece of music to which a quadrille may be danced.

In technical and elliptical uses. A kind of step-dance; the measure of or music for this. dialect.

North American. Dance and Skating. A dance step performed by jumping up and striking the legs together whilst in the air; a dance featuring such a…

A piece of music typically written in 2/4 time as the accompaniment to a characteristic dance (see sense 2).

A Bohemian folk dance; a ballroom dance in 3/4 or 3/8 time based on this. Also: a piece of music intended to accompany such a dance.

General attributive in senses 2 and 1, as polka band, polka music, polka step, polka time, etc.

The music for such a dance (see also quot. 1863); a tune to which the dance is performed.

A type of Hungarian dance to gypsy music; the music played to accompany this dance; a piece of music written in this style.

A slow type of dance, or the music for this; also (slang), a dancing party. U.S.

A modern dance, of American origin, consisting chiefly of alternating measures of long and short steps; also, a piece of music suitable as an…

A kind of vigorous, popular, and sometimes indecent, dance; the music, esp. drumming, used to accompany this.

A piece of music for this dance or in its rhythm; the rhythm itself.

A ballroom dance with high kicks and gliding steps performed by large groups linking arms in a row. Also figurative.

the name of a street in Lambeth, used as the title of a Cockney song and dance first performed by Lupino Lane in the revue Me and my Gal in 1937.

A dance, popular esp. in the early 1940s, performed chiefly to boogie-woogie and swing music, and consisting of a few standardized steps augmented…

Chiefly in form highlife. Originally: a West African (originally Ghanaian) dance based on the two-step, with an emphasis on the dancer's individual…

A kind of Afro-American dance music of southern Louisiana; the dance itself. Also attributive.

A (repeated) sequence of rhythmic hand movements performed whilst or instead of dancing, esp. to rock-and-roll music. Cf. jive, n. 2b.

The action of performing a hand jive. Cf. hand jive, n.

A kind of dance.

A dance in which the body is twisted from side to side; spec. a dance of this kind popular in the early 1960s. Also, music for such a dance.

A type of dance music originating among the Pima and Tohono O'odham peoples of the Sonoran desert region of the United States and Mexico, blending…

A song or piece of music suitable for accompanying slow, close dancing.

A type of dance music originating in the Cape Verde Islands, traditionally played on an accordion and accompanied by a ferrinho (ferrinho, n.)…

A type of electronic dance music, popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s, originating in Belgium, and characterized by a slow, mechanical beat.

A type of electronic dance music derived from Acid House and techno, characterized by rhythms and sounds intended to be hypnotic or…