cancan

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“
"Yes," he said, "they're going to dance the cancan--she's going to lead it Makaraig and Pecson redoubled their attention, smiling in anticipation, while Isagani looked away, mortified to think that Paulita should be present at such a show and reflecting that it was his duty to challenge Juanito Pelaez the next day But the young men waited in vain.

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Definitions (5)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. noun An exuberant dance that originated in France, performed by women and marked by high kicking.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (2)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (50)

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This word has been looked up 69 times.

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Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from French cancan, a dance (see def.); a slang or cant term, perhaps a particular use of cancan, tittle-tattle, gossip, scandal, said to be from Latin quamquam, although (because “in the schools of the middle ages the proper pronunciation of this word was the subject of fierce contention, one party pronouncing it can-can, and the other quanquam“), but prob. from cancaner, tattle, chatter, gossip, apparently an imitative reduplication, to be compared with the English cackle, quack, etc.
  2. cancan, n.
 

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/ˈkænkæn/
by American Heritage

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