mazurka

or ma·zour·ka

[ muh-zur-kuh, -zoor- ]

noun

1. a lively Polish dance in moderately quick triple meter.
2. music for, or in the rhythm of, this dance.

mazurka

/ məˈzɜːkə /

noun

1. a Polish national dance in triple time
2. a piece of music composed for this dance

Word History and Origins

Origin of mazurka¹

1810–20; < Polish, equivalent to Mazur Mazovia (district in northern Poland) + -ka noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of mazurka¹

C19: from Polish: (dance) of Mazur (Mazovia) province in Poland

Example Sentences

He eventually settled in Paris, giving concerts, teaching the piano and composing music, some based on Polish dances like the polonaise and the mazurka.

From Seattle Times

American Ballet Theatre “Other Dances,” a classic by Jerome Robbins, originally danced by Mikhail Baryshnikov and Natalia Makarova and set to Chopin mazurkas and a waltz.

From Seattle Times

A Chopin mazurka floated on air out of shimmering chords in Shaw’s score, while Snider’s quiet tolling of bells was so majestic that it almost seemed like electronic music.

From Los Angeles Times

He exploited time signatures and forms; for “Night Music,” he wrote a waltz, two sarabandes, two mazurkas, a polonaise, an étude and a gigue — nearly an entire score written in permutations of triple time.

From New York Times

The program included technical challenges like the Etudes, musical challenges like Poland’s dances — mazurkas and polonaises — as well as concertos with an orchestra.

From Seattle Times