ballroomn.
/ˈbɔːlruːm/, /ˈbɔːlrʊm/, U.S. /ˈbɔlˌrum/, /ˈbɔlˌrʊm/, /ˈbɑlˌrum/, /ˈbɑlˌrʊm/ A large room for formal dancing; a room in which balls are or may be held.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > dancing > place for dancing > [noun] > ballroom
ballroom1719
1719 E. F. Haywood Love in Excess: Pt. 2nd 81 She return'd to the Ball Room, and was so out of Humour all the Night that she cou'd hardly be Commonly Civil to any Body.
1736 Let. 30 Nov. in Fog's Weekly Jrnl. 26 Mar. (1737) 1/1 The Conspirators..were first to blow up the Ball-Room.
1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 201. ⁋8 The play-house, the ball-room, or the card-table.
1833 Knickerbocker 1 157 One is now so crowded, squeezed, and pushed about in a ball-room.
1875 ‘H. Mathers’ Comin' thro' Rye ii. ix Ball-room conversation is never expected to be very wise, is it?
1929 Melody Maker Jan. 10/1 I was given the opportunity of seeing the New Playhouse ballroom opened by the Green Brothers.
1951 W. Styron Lie down in Darkness iii. 77 A wisp of music unspooled from the ballroom.
2004 D. Cosper Wedding Season i. 110 We arrive..and are swept through the lobby on a tide of guests to the grand ballroom.
Compounds
ballroom dance n. (a) any of various formal dances for couples; (b) = ballroom dancing n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > ballroom dancing > [noun]
ball-dancing1728
ballroom dancing1838
ballroom dance1850
1850 Musical World 27 July 466/2 The Waltz is indeed a wonderful invention; of all our ballroom dances the most graceful.
1935 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 35 846/2 Opportunity must be offered..to be an acceptable partner whether in a sport or ballroom dance.
1939 N.Y. Times 11 Dec. 27 Riley..described a method of scoring points in ballroom dance contests.
1996 J. Malone Steppin' on Blues vi. 93 ‘Adagio’ dancers performed a style that consisted of ballroom dance with various balletic and acrobatic lifts.
2013 S. M. Schaub Melting Pot vii. 127 Those ballroom dances that required close body contact with men, the foxtrots and waltzes.
ballroom dancer n. a person who participates in ballroom dancing.
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1856 C. Durang Fashionable Dancer's Casket 78 The statue-like position in which our ballroom dancers move in steps and figures.
1926 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 23 Oct. 730/1 He thought that the acrobatic exploits of some ballroom dancers he had seen would take some beating.
2005 Sun (Nexis) 26 Nov. Strictly Come Dancing on BBC1 is a wonderful programme, particularly for long-time ballroom dancers like myself.
ballroom dancing n. formal social dancing in couples, as a recreation or (now frequently) as a competitive activity.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > ballroom dancing > [noun]
ball-dancing1728
ballroom dancing1838
ballroom dance1850
1838 B. Dun Man. Private or Ball-room Dancing 12 That style or kind of dancing which is..known to us by the appellation of Private, or Ball-room Dancing.
1894 E. Scott Dancing iv. 24 Not..half the people who professed to teach ball-room dancing really knew the difference.
1923 P. G. Wodehouse Adventures of Sally ii. 54 The only thing I could do..was ball-room dancing, so I ball-room danced.
1978 F. Mullally Deadly Payoff vi. 81 Strict-tempo ballroom dancing: the slow foxtrot, the quickstep, the waltz.
2004 Independent 14 Jan. 42/1 The young people who are taking up ballroom dancing—which is now widely considered to be a dance ‘sport’—in their thousands.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1719