Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

Dadaism

 - 3 dictionary results

da⋅da

[dah-dah]
–noun (sometimes initial capital letter)
the style and techniques of a group of artists, writers, etc., of the early 20th century who exploited accidental and incongruous effects in their work and who programmatically challenged established canons of art, thought, morality, etc.

Origin:
1915–20; < F: hobby horse, childish redupl. of da giddyap


da⋅da⋅ism, noun
da⋅da⋅ist, noun
da⋅da⋅is⋅tic, adjective
da⋅da⋅is⋅ti⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Dadaism
Da·da or da·da   (dä'dä)   
n.  A European artistic and literary movement (1916-1923) that flouted conventional aesthetic and cultural values by producing works marked by nonsense, travesty, and incongruity.

[French dada, hobbyhorse, Dada, of baby-talk origin.]
Da'da·ism n., Da'da·ist adj. & n., Da'da·is'tic adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

dada 
1920, from Fr. dada "hobbyhorse," child's nonsense word, selected 1916 by Romanian poet Tristan Tzara, leader of the movement, for its resemblance to meaningless babble.
"Freedom: DADA DADA DADA, the howl of clashing colors, the intertwining of all contradictions, grotesqueries, trivialities: LIFE." [T. Tzara, "Dada Manifesto," 1918]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Dadaism on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: