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courante

[ koo-rahnt; French koo-rahnt ]

noun

, plural cou·rantes [k, oo, -, rahnts, koo-, rahnt].
  1. a dance dating back to the 17th century and characterized by a running or gliding step.
  2. a piece of music for or suited to this dance.
  3. Music. a movement following the allemande in the classical suite.


courante

/ kʊˈrɑːnt /

noun

  1. an old dance in quick triple time
  2. a movement of a (mostly) 16th- to 18th-century suite based on this
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of courante1

1580–90; < Middle French; literally, running, feminine present participle of courir to run; current
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Word History and Origins

Origin of courante1

C16: from French, literally: running, feminine of courant, present participle of courir to run, from Latin currere
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Example Sentences

Then we were off, Char naming each dance: a gavotte, a slow sarabande, a courante, an allemande.

Ma played slow, but in some dances, particularly courantes and the concluding gigues, he played fast, blurring details, going straight for the jugular.

Some of the most exhilaratingly virtuosic playing occurred in the quick courantes, while the lively gigues concluded each suite with an air of culminating inevitability.

Yet even in a stylish courante or minuet, Bach the ingenious master of counterpoint is ever-present.

Mr. Tamestit compared the crazed, fast movement to a courante, adding that the quality of sound was not of utmost importance.

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