Link Centre Dictionary

cotillion

co·til·lion

UK/kəʊtɪlˈjɒ̃/ US/kətɪlˈjɒ̃/ uncommon rare us

noun

1.

a ball at which young ladies are presented to society

Synonyms
2.

a lively dance originating in France in the 18th century

Synonyms

Origin

First use appears c. 1750, in the sense of the dance, from French cotillon (“petticoat”), extended to the dance because of the distinctive lift of dress revealing the petticoat, from cotte (“dress”) + -illon (diminutive). Said to derive from the then-popular song Ma commère, quand je danse, mon cotillion va-t-il bien.

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.