morris dance

[mawr-is, mor-] Origin

morris dance

[mawr-is, mor-]
noun
a rural folk dance of north English origin, performed in costume traditionally by men who originally represented characters of the Robin Hood legend, especially in May Day festivities.
Also called mor·ris.


Origin:
1425–75; late Middle English moreys daunce Moorish dance; see Moorish
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Morris dance is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
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.
Collins
World English Dictionary
morris dance (ˈmɒrɪs)
 
n
Often shortened to: morris any of various old English folk dances usually performed by men (morris men) to the accompaniment of violin, concertina, etc. The dancers are adorned with bells and often represent characters from folk tales
 
[C15 moreys daunce Moorish dance. See Moor]
 
morris dancing
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

morris dance
1458, moreys daunce "Moorish dance," from Flem. mooriske dans, from O.Fr. morois "Moor." Unknown why the Eng. dance was called this, unless in ref. to fantastic dancing or costumes (cf. It. Moresco, a related dance, lit. "Moorish," Ger. moriskentanz, Fr. moresque).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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