Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An animated Spanish or Spanish-American dance in triple time.
  • noun The music for this dance.
  • noun Informal Nonsense; tomfoolery.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A lively dance, very popular in Spain and Spanish America.
  • noun Music for such a dance or in its rhythm, which is triple and often based on the formula here shown: akin to the bolero, chica, seguidilla, etc.
  • noun By extension, a ball or dance of any sort, especially in the formerly Spanish parts of the United States; hence, humorously, any noisy entertainment, with or without dancing; a jollification.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A lively dance, in 3-8 or 6-8 time, much practiced in Spain and Spanish America. Also, the tune to which it is danced.
  • noun colloq. A ball or general dance, as in Mexico.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A form of flamenco music and dance that has many regional variations (e.g. fandango de Huelva), some of which have their own names (e.g. malagueña, granadina)
  • noun An unknown entity or contraption
  • noun A shade of red-violet
  • verb To dance the fandango
  • verb figuratively To dance, particularly with a lot of energy

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a provocative Spanish courtship dance in triple time; performed by a man and a woman playing castanets

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Spanish, possibly alteration of *fadango, from fado, from Portuguese, sad song; see fado.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Spanish fandango.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word fandango.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • My happiness is a golden poem!

    March 12, 2007

  • "We skipped the light fandango

    turned cartwheels 'cross the floor

    I was feeling kinda seasick

    but the crowd called out for more"

    March 19, 2008

  • Monterey is also a great place for cock-fighting, gambling of all sorts, fandangos, and various kinds of amusement and knavery.

    - Richard Henry Dana Jr., Two Years Before the Mast, ch. 13

    September 6, 2008

  • Citation on frolicsome.

    September 20, 2008

  • Very good.

    December 4, 2008

  • Will you do the fandango

    December 4, 2008

  • Possibly in Durango.

    December 4, 2008