It’s a Party:
Etymologies of Popular Social Dance Names
In this exhibit, you’ll find the etymologies of popular social dance names.
As the name of the exhibit suggests, a common theme among the etymologies is that many dance names mean, or at one point meant, “party.”
bachata
bachata
Meaning: “a lively party” or “a gathering with music and dance”
Language: Caribbean Spanish
Notes: Long before it meant a specific style of music and dance, bachata simply meant “a lively party” in Caribbean Spanish. Later, it specifically referred to “a dance party.” When bachata music and dancing began to develop in the mid to late 20th century, the name for the parties where it developed was applied to the music and dance.
Balboa
Balboa
Meaning: “dance from the Balboa Peninsula in Southern California”
Language: Spanish, ultimately
Explanation: Named after the Balboa Peninsula (and Balboa Pavilion) in Southern California, where the dance was developed. The Balboa Peninsula, in turn, was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, leader of the first European expedition to reach the Pacific Ocean (by crossing the Isthmus of Panama). Balboa the man, in turn, got his name from the village of Balboa in northern Spain.
blues
blues
Meaning: “feelings of melancholy, sadness, or depression”
Language: English
Notes: The name of the dance comes from the name of the music. The name of the music comes from the name of the mental state. The name of the mental state is thought to derive from an older phrase, “blue devils,” which was used to describe malignant demons, particularly those that caused melancholy.
cha cha (cha)
cha cha (cha)
Meaning: an onomatopoeic name based on the sound of shuffling feet
Language: Spanish
Notes: The name of the dance comes from the sound the feet make during the shuffling triple step that distinguishes the dance. Sometimes, the full name is used, and sometimes, it’s abbreviated to only two chas.
contra dance
contra dance
Meaning: “country dance”
Language: French
Notes: The name comes from the French contredanse “country dance.” The popular story goes that American colonials loved to dance, but didn’t want anything to do with the British, so they adopted an Americanized version of the French name for country dancing. The earliest use of the American spelling in my collection of dance manuals is from 1792, in a book of contra dances that begins with patriotic titles like “Constitution of America” and “The American Eagle.”
cumbia
cumbia
Meaning: “to dance” or “a festivity”
Language: Bantu languages
Notes: The leading theory is that Cumbia is derived from the Bantu root kumbé, meaning “to dance” or “a festivity.”
foxtrot
foxtrot
Meaning: “trot of Harry Fox”
or “gait of the Missouri Fox Trotter”
or “just one of many animal dances from the 1910s”
Language: English
Explanation: While everyone will tell you that it was named after vaudeville performer Harry Fox (and this is certainly one possibility), another possibility is that it was named after the unique gait of the Missouri Fox Trotter horse breed, which mixes slow and quick steps, just like the dance does (Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe not.). Given the number of other different animal dances invented in the 1910s, it’s also possible that Foxtrot began as just another animal dance name, and unlike the other animal dances, which were short-lived fads, the Foxtrot happened to stick around. It’s also possible that it’s some combination of these options.
fusion
fusion
Meaning: literally, a “fusion” of different dance forms
Language: English
Notes: In the late 20th century, when dancers were experimenting with various fusions of dance forms, Fusion was an obvious choice for a name of the resulting dance.
kizomba
kizomba
Meaning: “to have a party / good time”
Language: Kimbundu, a Bantu language spoken in Angola
Notes: It’s widely agreed that Kizomba is derived from a Kimbundu verb meaning “to have a party” or “to have a good time.”
Lindy hop
Lindy hop
Meaning: “Charles Lindbergh’s hop across the Atlantic”
Language: English
Explanation: While the precise details of the story are now debated, it’s still generally agreed that “Shorty” George Snowden gave the dance this name in 1928, the year after Charles Lindbergh’s famous transatlantic flight.
merengue
merengue
Meaning: perhaps related to “meringue” (the egg based confection)
Language: Spanish
Explanation: In a letter to Dance Magazine in April 1955, Haitian dancer Jean-Léon Destiné writes, “People here [in the U.S.] are familiar with Meringue Pie. But how many of them know that this name [the name of the dance] was taken from an old Haitian Legend? This legend tells of the time when enslaved Creoles were required by their masters to entertain with dance and song. The best entertainer was rewarded with a piece of characteristic French pastry. Naturally these dance improvisations became known as The Meringue. Much later, when the eastern part of the island of Haiti became the Dominican Republic, the Dominicans adopted The Meringue and gave it the Spanish name Merengue.” As attractive as this theory may be, neither I nor Douglas Harper of Etymonline have seen anything that corroborates it, so take it with a grain of salt (or sugar, as the case may be). Another option which has been proposed is that meringue was used metaphorically to describe a lightness in the quality of the dance.
milonga
milonga
Meaning: “rebellious messages”
Language: Kimbundu, a Bantu language spoken in Angola
Explanation: In the 17th century, Portuguese officials on the coast of Angola were complaining that Queen Nzinga, an indigenous leader, was sending messages—milonga—asking local populations to join her in rebellion. She was also sending veiled threats to the Portuguese, which were also referred to as milonga, so the word can mean speech that incites, rebels, or talks back.
It’s Also a Party: While this one didn’t originally mean “party,” it does today. In addition to being the name of a dance, milonga is also the name for a party where tango, milonga, and vals are danced.
nightclub two step
nightclub two step
Meaning: literally, a “nightclub” version of “two step”
Language: English
Notes: Buddy Schwimmer, the inventor of the dance, gave it this name because of the nightclub-style ballads of the 1960s.
one step
one step
Meaning: you’re stepping on every beat, so it’s literally just “one step”
Language: English
Notes: In 1914, Vernon & Irene Castle wrote, “It is simply one step—hence its name.”
polka
polka
Meaning: “half”
or “Polish woman”
Language: Czech
Explanation: Could be from Czech pulka “half,” or Czech polka “Polish woman.” Everything else “polka,” like “polka dots” or “polka jackets” comes from the dance, as its wild popularity in the 1840s influenced many aspects of culture.
rumba
rumba
Meaning: “spree, party”
Language: Cuban Spanish
Explanation: From Cuban Spanish rumba, originally “spree, carousal,” from Spanish rumbo “spree, party,” earlier “ostentation, pomp, leadership,” perhaps originally "the course of a ship," from rombo “rhombus,” in reference to the compass.
salsa
salsa
Meaning: “sauce”
Language: Spanish
Explanation: In the 1960s, Dominican musician Johnny Pacheco popularized “salsa” as a catchy name for Latin Jazz music. Eventually, the dance that was done to salsa music, an evolution of Mambo, came to be known as Salsa as well.
samba
samba
Meaning: originally, an umbrella term referring to dances done by people of African descent
Language: Portuguese
Notes: While the exact origins of the word are debated, what is generally agreed upon is that over the course of Brazilian history, “samba” was used an umbrella term to describe the dances done by people of African descent in Brazil.
schottische
schottische
Meaning: “Scottish”
Language: German
Notes: It’s not entirely clear why a German dance became known by the German word for Scottish. Theories generally center around some kind of Scottish influence, whether on the music or the style of the steps, but there is nothing 100% definitive. Given the popularity of place-based names for 19th century dances (e.g. Varsovienne from Warsaw, Hungroise from Hungary), it’s also possible that it’s simply another example of that.
tango
tango
Meaning: “a dance gathering”
Language: Spanish
Notes: While many have tried to identify a single origin for the name Tango, it’s also possible that it has multiple intersecting origins. In the earliest known usage, from 1789, an Argentine official complains about “bailes y juntas las del tango,” using tango to refer to dance gatherings of enslaved Black people. This continued into the early 19th century, with prohibitions against “los tangos de negros.” The word tambo was also used in this way, for example, “tambos, bailes de negros.” Tambo is thought to derive from the indigenous (specifically, Quechua) word tanpu (tanbo), meaning a lodge, rest stop, or meeting place. Another potential origin is an African word like tamgú, which means “dance” in Ibibio. To further complicate things, in 19th century Europe, dictionaries defined tango as “encuentro y baile de los gitanos” (“a meeting and dance of the Gypsies”). Given the diverse, intersecting origins of the music and dance, it’s also possible that the name has diverse, intersecting origins. Regardless of where the word originated, we know that for centuries, it has referred to a dance gathering.
waltz
waltz
Meaning: “to turn, roll, or revolve”
Language: German
Explanation: From German Waltzer, from walzen “to roll, dance,” from Old High German walzan “to turn, roll,” from Proto-Germanic *walt-, from PIE root *wel- “to turn, revolve.”
Variations: Names like Rotary Waltz, Reverse Waltz, Cross-Step Waltz, Box Step Waltz, and Bluesy Waltz were created to differentiate the type of Waltz. In each of these cases, the preliminary adjective describes a key feature of the dance. Viennese Waltz was a name created for British competition Quick Waltz (another descriptive name), to differentiate it from Waltz (or Slow Waltz).
west coast swing
west coast swing
Meaning: “a swing dance developed on the west coast of the United States”
Language: English
Notes: In the mid-20th century, the dance that evolved into modern West Coast Swing was called both Western Swing and West Coast Swing. In either case, it refers to the evolution of Swing dancing that developed on the west coast of the United States. The term “East Coast Swing” was created to balance the term West Coast Swing, describing the earlier forms of Swing that developed on the east coast of the United States.
zouk
zouk
Meaning: “party” or “festival”
Language: Antillean Creole French
Notes: As a musical style, zouk was pioneered by Antillean band Kassav’, who referred to the new genre they developed as zouk.
zydeco
zydeco
Meaning: “the green beans”
Language: Creole French
Explanation: The prevailing theory is that it comes from the expression “Les haricots sont pas salés” (“the green beans aren’t salted”), indicating hard times. In Creole French, the pronunciation of “les haricots” approaches “le zydeco” (“le zarico”). Another theory is that it comes from West African languages where the syllables “za,” “re,” and “go” are frequently associated with music and dancing.
Updated: March 2025
First Displayed: February 2025