Coochee

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A crude slang term for the female genitals ; a sexually suggestive dance style, especially one associated with belly dancing or burlesque
2. Vulgar slang referring to the vulva or vagina ; a provocative, sensual dance performed to suggest sexual movement
3. An offensive colloquial name for the external female sex organs ; a suggestive dance involving pelvic gyrations, often performed in burlesque shows

Etymology: Visitors to American fairs and sideshows around the turn of the twentieth century could pay to watch a dance billed as the "coochee-coochee," a sinuous belly dance that quickly became a sensation. The name was the performance's selling point, and it stuck to the act rather than to any established dance tradition. Where the name itself came from is uncertain. It has been linked to Arabic and other North African or Middle Eastern words, but no such link is securely documented. What is clear is how the term shifted. "Coochy" came to mean any suggestive dancing, and in slang it grew into a crude term for female genitalia, a sense that now overshadows the dance it first named.