waltz

Pronunciation

• IPA: /wɒlts/, /wɔːlts/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from German Walzer,^[2][3][4][5] from walzen “to roll, to dance”,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Old High German walzan (“to turn, roll”),^[2][3][4][5] from the Proto-Indo-European root *wel- “to turn, revolve”.^[2][4] Random House explains the English word as a back-formation, Walzer being taken as walz plus the suffix -er.^[6] It is related to welter.^[3][5][6] Weekley mentions a view connecting it with French volte, a popular earlier dance.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A dance in triple time by couples who turn round and round together (1781);^[7][3][5] Etymonline cites walse from 1779 in a translation of Goethe's Werther.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The waltz was extremely fashionable from the late 18th to the late 19th century,^[4] though it was at first thought indecent because partners embraced as they danced.^[4] The word was used for a piece of music for the dance from 1816.^[7] The verb, “to dance a waltz”, appeared about 1794,^[7][3][5] and was extended to moving nimbly, then to moving boldly or unconcernedly, as in waltz in (1862).^[7][4] In 20th-century slang a waltz is something done with ease (1968).^[7]

Timeline

• 1779 – walse in a translation of Werther.^[4]
• 1781 – the dance.^[7][3][5]
• c. 1794 – verb, to dance a waltz.^[7][3][5]
• 1816 – music for the dance.^[7]
• 1862 – to move lightly or boldly.^[7]
• 1968 – slang, something accomplished with ease.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A ballroom dance in triple time with a strong accent on the first beat, in which couples turn continuously.
2. A piece of music for this dance, or a concert composition in triple time.
3. (informal) Something done with little effort; an easy victory.

Verb

1. To dance the waltz, or to dance the waltz with (someone).
2. To move briskly and confidently, especially casually or uninvited.
3. To accomplish something with little effort, often with through.
4. To lead or force (someone) to move briskly; to march.

Word family

• waltzer

Related words

• welter
• volte
• minuet
• polka

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press