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minuet

American  
[min-yoo-et] / ˌmɪn yuˈɛt /

noun

  1. a slow, stately dance in triple meter, popular in the 17th and 18th centuries.

  2. a piece of music for such a dance or in its rhythm.

minuet British  
/ ˌmɪnjʊˈɛt /

noun

  1. a stately court dance of the 17th and 18th centuries in triple time

  2. a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance, sometimes as a movement in a suite, sonata, or symphony See also scherzo

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of minuet

1665–75; < French menuet, equivalent to menu small ( menu ) + -et -et; so called from the shortness of the dancers' steps

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.