:10
:09
:08
:07
:06
:05
:04
:03
:02
:01
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| chaconne (ʃəˈkɒn, French ʃakɔn) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | See also passacaglia a musical form consisting of a set of continuous variations upon a ground bass |
| 2. | archaic a dance in slow triple time probably originating in Spain |
| [C17: from French, from Spanish chacona, probably imitative of the castanet accompaniment] | |
chaconne
originally a fiery and suggestive dance that appeared in Spain about 1600 and eventually gave its name to a musical form. Miguel de Cervantes, Francisco Gomez de Quevedo, and other contemporary writers imply a Mexican origin. Apparently danced with castanets by a couple or by a woman alone, it soon spread to Italy, where it was considered disreputable as it had been in Spain. During the 17th century, a subdued version gained favour at the French court; it appeared frequently in the stage works of Jean-Baptiste Lully
Learn more about chaconne with a free trial on Britannica.com.