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Glite Dictionary
pas de trois

pas de trois

9.9
A dance for three dancers in a ballet
  • noun
  • /pɑː də trwɑː/
  • Specialized
translation icon : pas de trois
  • During the ballet, the audience applauded enthusiastically as the dancers performed an elegant pas de trois.

Examples

  • These male soloists support Choleric in a pas de trois.

    Academic text (2000)

  • The highlight of the recital was a beautiful pas de trois featuring two girls and a boy, all perfectly in sync.

  • In the performance, the three dancers executed a stunning pas de trois that showcased their intricate choreography.

How Many

ensemble
57 5.3
quartet
12 3.4
pas de trois
  • Specialized
9.9
duet
31 3.1
to solo
3 4.2

Surface Forms

pas de trois singular
pas de trois plural

Morphology

pas + de + trois

The meaning 'a dance for three' is directly compositional from the French constituents: pas (step/movement) + de (of) + trois (three) — literally 'step of three', which corresponds to a choreographed dance for three performers. Although the item is a French loanword and learners without knowledge of French particles may not recognise the parts, a B1 learner who knows the constituent words or recognises the familiar pattern (e.g. pas de deux) can transparently infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Pas de trois comes from the words pas ('step') and trois ('three'). It names a short dance made for three people, so today it means 'a dance for three dancers' in ballet.