czardas

or csar·das

[ chahr-dahsh ]

noun

1. a Hungarian national dance in two movements, one slow and the other fast.

czardas

/ ˈtʃɑːdæʃ /

noun

1. a Hungarian national dance of alternating slow and fast sections
2. a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance

Word History and Origins

Origin of czardas¹

First recorded in 1855–60; from Hungarian csárdás, equivalent to csárda “wayside tavern” (from Serbo-Croatian čȁrdāk originally, “watchtower,” from Turkish çardak “bower, booth, pergola,” from Persian chārtāk “four-cornered room”; čār “four” + tāk “vault”) + -s adjective suffix; earlier csárdák was analyzed as csárda + -k plural suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of czardas¹

from Hungarian csárdás

Example Sentences

“I came back a month later, my teacher gave me ‘Czardas’ to play.

From Los Angeles Times

In February, Slocumb was trying to eke out some time, in half-hour chunks, to practice “Czardas” again, a piece he hadn’t played in years.

From Los Angeles Times

In one scene, Ray plays “Czardas,” a work by Italian composer Vittorio Monti.

From Los Angeles Times

For Slocumb, “Czardas” was also a redemption piece in college after he bombed a performance in front of his fellow music students.

From Los Angeles Times

This is how Slocumb describes Ray’s performance of “Czardas”: “The mournful opening notes gave way to sunlight on a park bench, to the glitter of water pouring endlessly from a waterfall on a very hot summer day.”

From Los Angeles Times