allemande

American  

[al-uh-mand, -mahnd, al-uh-mand, al-uh-mahnd, al^uh-mahnd] / ˈæl əˌmænd, -ˌmɑnd, ˌæl əˈmænd, ˌæl əˈmɑnd, aləˈmɑ̃d /

noun

plural

allemandes

1. a 17th- and 18th-century dance in slow duple time.

2. a piece of music based on its rhythm, often following the prelude in the classical suite.

3. a figure performed in a quadrille.

4. a German folk dance in triple meter, similar to the ländler.

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allemande British  

/ almɑ̃d, ˈælɪmænd /

noun

1. the first movement of the classical suite, composed in a moderate tempo in a time signature of four-four

2. any of several German dances

3. a figure in country dancing or square dancing by means of which couples change position in the set

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Etymology

Origin of allemande

1675–85; < French, short for danse allemande German dance

Example Sentences

We square dancers had to cancel our whole season — you can’t very well social-distance while doing the allemande and do-si-do.

From Washington Post • May 7, 2020

The strains of an orchestra wafted up to us, a slow allemande.

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

It was like square-dancing on Hee Haw, except with mostly girls running around from group to group calling out the allemande lefts and dos-si-dos.

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia

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

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

The allemande, overture, or preludio formed the first movement; the second consisted of the sarabande, the ancestor of our adagio; and the last part was generally a gigue.

From Critical and Historical Essays Lectures delivered at Columbia University by Baltzell, W. J. (Winton James)