rain dance
3
7.5
- noun
- /reɪn dæns/
:
danza de la lluvia
- Every summer, the community gathers to celebrate their tradition with a rain dance aimed at invoking rainfall.
Examples
-
Maybe you should try a little rain dance.
-
Tribes traditionally used the famous "rain dances" to try to end droughts.
Academic text (2005) -
I've read about these rain dances.
-
As far as you can see, we've covered - tents, trucks, trailers, whatever you can think of, for our fifth annual rain dance festival.
-
Those who think rain dances cause rain are unlikely to delve into the finer points of meteorology.
Blog text (19) -
Jim is now out there in the arena in a conga line, doing his rain dance, hands on hips, the teenagers forming a long snake behind him.
Fiction book (1991) -
The indigenous tribe performed a rain dance to plead for the much-needed rain.
-
During the drought, the villagers organized a rain dance as a way to connect with their ancestors and ask for rain.
Synonyms
1
5.8
A dance performed during a religious or traditional ceremony
1
4.2
A dance done during a religious or ritual ceremony to show respect
A traditional dance by some Native American people to ask for rain and a good corn harvest
The act of trying to make rain fall using special methods or ceremonies
A dance done during religious or ceremonial events like weddings and funerals
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a ritual dance to invoke rain' is directly and compositionally built from 'rain' (precipitation) + 'dance' (a rhythmic movement), so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer the purpose. This compounding pattern and the widespread cross‑linguistic concept of rain‑making rituals make the expression immediately comprehensible and transparent.
Etymology
Rain dance comes from traditional ceremonies where people danced to ask the sky for water. The dance was meant to 'bring rain', so the phrase means a special dance to try to make it rain.