contradancing
n.— «Contradancing is a type of American folk dancing. English country dancing (think Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennett from “Pride and Prejudice”) was introduced to France in the early 1700s, where the French are believed to have changed “country dance” to contredans, which translates, depending on which theory one believes, to “opposites dance” or “across dance.” The French term was then reintroduced as contradance in England and a young America.» —“Contradance Comes to the Sandhills” The Pilot (Pinehurst, S.C.) Apr. 6, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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