Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A stately, marchlike Polish dance in triple meter, primarily a promenade by couples.
- noun The music for this dance.
- noun A woman's dress of the 1700s, having a fitted bodice and draped cutaway skirt, worn over an elaborate underskirt.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A light open gown looped up at the sides, showing the front of an elaborate petticoat, and longer behind, worn toward the close of the eighteenth century; also, a similar but plainer gown, not so much drawn back, and draped more simply, worn at the present time.
- noun A kind of overcoat, short and usually faced and bordered with fur, worn by men who affected a semi-military dress during the first quarter of the nineteenth century.
- noun A Polish dance, consisting mainly of a march or promenade of the dancers in procession.
- noun Music for such a promenade, or in its peculiar rhythm, which is triple and stately, with a characteristic division of the first beat of the measures, and a capricious ending of the phrases on the last beat.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Of or pertaining to the Poles, or to Poland.
- noun The Polish language.
- noun An article of dress for women, consisting of a body and an outer skirt in one piece.
- noun (Mus.) A stately Polish dance tune, in 3-4 measure, beginning always on the beat with a quaver followed by a crotchet, and closing on the beat after a strong accent on the second beat; also, a dance adapted to such music; a polacca.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
stately Polish dance in triple time andmoderate tempo . - noun
Music for this dance. - noun A woman's
dress having a tightbodice and askirt divided to show a colouredunderskirt .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a woman's dress with a tight bodice and an overskirt drawn back to reveal a colorful underskirt
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The first wore a white silk, called a polonaise, forming a flowing robe, open to the waist; the pink sash was six inches wide, and filled with spangles; the shoes and stockings were also spangled, and, above all, arose a towering head-dress, filled with a profusion of pearls and jewels; the veil was spangled, and edged with silver lace.
My Lady of Doubt Randall Parrish 1890
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In the olden times the polonaise was a kind of solemn ceremony.
Frederic Chopin as a Man and Musician Niecks, Frederick 1888
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Ax built this recital around the theme of fantasy, beginning with Chopin's Polonaise-Fantaisie in A flat, Op 61, in which the polonaise is a firmly focused introduction to the meandering that follows.
Culture | guardian.co.uk Rian Evans 2010
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When, therefore, the signal for the "polonaise" resounded through the saloons, and the guests of all ranks took part in that measured promenade, which on occasions of this kind has all the importance of a national dance, the mingled costumes, the sweeping robes adorned with lace, and uniforms covered with orders, presented a scene of dazzling splendor, lighted by hundreds of lusters multiplied tenfold by the numerous mirrors adorning the walls.
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The ball consisted of nothing but repetitions of the dance called "polonaise," in which I had for my first partner young Prince Bariatinski, with whom I went the round of the room and afterward took a seat on the bench to watch all the dancers.
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The "polonaise" was often danced, too, and was much less fatiguing, for this dance is nothing more than a procession in which you quietly walk two by two.
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When, therefore, the signal for the "polonaise" resounded through the saloons, and the guests of all ranks took part in that measured promenade, which on occasions of this kind has all the importance of a national dance, the mingled costumes, the sweeping robes adorned with lace, and uniforms covered with orders, presented a scene of dazzling splendor, lighted by hundreds of lusters multiplied tenfold by the numerous mirrors adorning the walls.
Michael Strogoff Or, The Courier of the Czar Jules Verne 1866
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I thought it was called polonaise, "he answered humbly.
The Motor Maids at Sunrise Camp Katherine Stokes
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'polonaise' of plain cloth, a little toque on her head trimmed with a pheasant's wing, a bunch of violets in her bosom, hastening along the
Swann's Way Marcel Proust 1896
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The forthright, hip-gyrating dance for the array of disco-dancing and drink-swigging Brits is set tightly on the polonaise Tchaikovsky called a "dance with goblets," albeit, in the original, wine-filled ones toasting that libretto's prince.
Fair Feathered Friends Robert Greskovic 2010
treeseed commented on the word polonaise
The polonaise (Polish: polonez, chodzony; Italian: polacca) is a rather slow dance of Polish origin, in 3/4 time. Its name is French for "Polish." The notation alla polacca on a score indicates that the piece should be played with the rhythm and character of a polonaise (e.g., the rondo in Beethoven's Triple Concerto op. 56 has this instruction).
Before Frédéric Chopin, the polonaise had a rhythm quite close to that of the Swedish semiquaver or sixteenth-note polska, and the two dances have a common origin. From Chopin onward, the polonaise developed a very solemn style, and has in that version become very popular in the classical music of several countries.
_Wikipedia
February 25, 2008
yarb commented on the word polonaise
E.g. in Tchaikovsky's 'Eugene Onegin'.
March 20, 2008
sionnach commented on the word polonaise
It's hard to imagine dancing to Chopin's "Military Polonaise", somehow.
March 20, 2008