gavotte

or ga·vot

[ guh-vot ]

noun

1. an old French dance in moderately quick quadruple meter.
2. a piece of music for, or in the rhythm of, this dance, often forming one of the movements in the classical suite, usually following the saraband.

gavotte

/ ɡəˈvɒt /

noun

1. an old formal dance in quadruple time
2. a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance

Word History and Origins

Origin of gavotte¹

1690–1700; < French < Provençal gavoto a mountaineer of Provence, a dance of such mountaineers, apparently derivative of gava bird's crop (probably < pre-Latin *gaba throat, crop, goiter), alluding to the prevalence of goiter among the mountaineers

Word History and Origins

Origin of gavotte¹

C17: from French, from Provençal gavoto, from gavot mountaineer, dweller in the Alps (where the dance originated), from gava goitre (widespread in the Alps), from Old Latin gaba (unattested) throat

Example Sentences

He was particularly adept at inflaming restrained French elegance with Italian intensity, as in the inexorably winding violin line of a G minor sonata’s prelude, exploding in arpeggios that lead to a fiery yet stylish gavotte.

From New York Times

He relented with a single brief and charming encore: the Gavotte from Prokofiev’s “Cinderella,” which he coyly typed out like an inside joke between him and the piano.

From Washington Post

As an encore, Trifonov played more Prokofiev: the Gavotte from his “Three Pieces From ‘Cinderella,’” based on his 1940s ballet.

From New York Times

“That’s your pas de bourrée, your pas de gavotte.”

From New York Times

The Fifth Suite’s Allemande is sensuous, its Courante robust; its deceptively simple Sarabande has long-lined legato flow, before a bursting Gavotte and the sustained energy of the Gigue.

From New York Times