an old French dance in moderately quick quadruple meter.
2.
a piece of music for, or in the rhythm of, this dance, often forming one of the movements in the classical suite, usually following the saraband.
Also, ga·vot.
Origin: 1690–1700; < French < Provençal gavoto a mountaineer of Provence, a dance of such mountaineers, apparently derivative of gava bird's crop (probably < pre-Latin *gaba throat, crop, goiter), alluding to the prevalence of goiter among the mountaineers
a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance
[C17: from French, from Provençal gavoto, from gavot mountaineer, dweller in the Alps (where the dance originated), from gava goitre (widespread in the Alps), from Old Latin gaba (unattested) throat]
gavotorgavot
—n
[C17: from French, from Provençal gavoto, from gavot mountaineer, dweller in the Alps (where the dance originated), from gava goitre (widespread in the Alps), from Old Latin gaba (unattested) throat]