battement

American  

[bat-muhnt, bat^uh-mahn] / ˈbæt mənt, batəˈmɑ̃ /

noun

Ballet.

plural

battements

1. a movement in which the dancer lifts one leg to the front, side, or back, and returns it to the supporting leg.

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battement British  

/ batmɑ̃ /

noun

1. ballet extension of one leg forwards, sideways, or backwards, either once or repeatedly

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Etymology

Origin of battement

1820–30; < French, equivalent to batt ( re ) to beat ( bate ² ) + -ment -ment

Example Sentences

When Violet topples over while stretching her leg high in a grand battement, Weary tells her, “It is better to try our hardest and fall down than to not try at all.”

From New York Times • Dec. 30, 2020

During the 90-minute class, instructor Jessica Jaye Mackinson taught us to chassé, sauté, ronde de jambe and grand battement, a fancy French word for a three-sided kick.

From Washington Post • Nov. 8, 2017

But now look at how the dancers do the battement tendu, the single step most famously associated with Balanchine.

From New York Times • Jun. 15, 2012

Aussi j’ai entendu un battement d’ailes dans l’air, un battement d’ailes gigantesques. 

From Selected Prose of Oscar Wilde by Wilde, Oscar