square dancing
- noun
- /skwɛr ˈdænsɪŋ/
- US
- In their small town, square dancing is a favorite weekend activity, bringing families together for fun and friendship.
- square dancing and cookouts
- went square dancing
Examples
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And they started out with, they were doing talking about square dancing in Arizona.
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And they started out with, they were doing talking about square dancing in Arizona.
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At the festival, everyone joined in square dancing, following the caller's instructions with enthusiasm.
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During the community event, four couples took their places and began square dancing to the lively music.
Synonyms
A country dance with four couples in a square led by a caller
A traditional dance from a region that tells local stories
Dances that people in a region pass down over time
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a dance performed by people arranged in a square formation' is directly derivable from combining 'square' (a four-sided shape/formation) and 'dancing' (engaging in dance). This noun+noun composition transparently describes the type of dance and follows common formation-naming patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words would likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
Square dancing comes from a country dance where four couples form a square and a caller gives short commands while everyone is dancing together. That picture of people moving in a square to a caller explains the name, so square dancing simply means that particular group 'dance'.