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danse

Etymology and origin of the French word danse

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
1172–1175, Chrétien de Troyes
Ultimate origin
French (danser)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French danser
French danse

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /dɑ̃s/[1]

Forms

danse f (plural danses)[1] Old French dance; the spelling danse from the 13th century.[2]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from French danser (“to dance”).[3][4][1] The verb, Old French dancier, belongs to the north of France and spread from there to Italian danzare, Spanish danzar, German and English, for elegant dances of polite society, while descendants of Latin ballō named popular dances.[5][6] Its origin is probably Germanic but has not been found.[3][6] The Frankish *dintjan, inferred from Dutch deinzen (“to move to and fro”), is the explanation of Bloch and Wartburg and the FEW, but does not account for the ⟨a⟩ of all the French forms;[5][3][7] a Frankish *dansōn (“to pull”), from Old High German dansōn, does not explain the Old French verb, a difficulty that V. Günther removed by positing an early variant *dansjan.[6][3] Wiktionary gives a Vulgar Latin *dantiō.[1] It is a doublet of English dance.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Chrétien de Troyes uses it in Le Chevalier de la charrette (1172–1175).[3][2]

Semantic evolution

By 1223 Gautier de Coinci uses it figuratively: in the Roman de la Rose the old woman scet toute la vielle dance, “knows all the old tricks”.[3][8] Littré quotes mener la dance from Eustache Deschamps, and 15th-century texts use danses for battles and dangers;[8] the figurative mener la danse, to be in charge, is recorded by Oudin in 1640.[2] From the early 13th century the word also names a tune for dancing.[2][6] Belle danse was the 17th-century name of noble dancing,[9] the Encyclopédie (1754) records danse de Saint-Guy, Saint Vitus's dance, and Bescherelle in 1845 the popular sense “a thrashing”.[2] The danse macabre, the medieval dance of death, takes its adjective, according to the REW, from the name of the Maccabees.[10]

Timeline

  • 1172–1175 – In Chrétien de Troyes.[3]
  • c. 1223 – Figurative use, in Gautier de Coinci.[3]
  • 13th century – The spelling danse.[2]
  • 1640 – Mener la danse, in Oudin.[2]
  • 1668 – La belle danse, noble dancing.[9]
  • 1754 – Danse de Saint-Guy, in the Encyclopédie.[2]
  • 1845 – “A thrashing”, in Bescherelle.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A series of rhythmic movements of the body, usually to music; the act of dancing: pas de danse, musique de danse.[11][12]
  2. A particular dance or style of dancing: danse folklorique, danse classique, danse du ventre.[11][2]
  3. The art of dancing, choreography: cours de danse.[12][2]
  4. A piece of music for dancing.[6]
  5. (figurative) Mener la danse: to be in charge, entrer dans la danse: to join in.[2][6]
  6. Danse macabre: the dance of death.[10]
  7. Danse de Saint-Guy: chorea, Saint Vitus's dance.[2]
  8. (popular) A thrashing.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 15/2, 63a
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  11. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  12. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Danse.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/danse. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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