Dancy

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having a rhythmic, lively, or bouncy quality that evokes the movements of dance ; characterized by music or conditions that invite or encourage people to dance
2. Displaying a light, springing, or graceful motion similar to that of a dancer ; of a tempo, beat, or atmosphere suitable for dancing
3. Possessing a quick, animated, or buoyant manner reminiscent of dance steps ; designed or arranged in a way that makes dancing enjoyable or natural

Etymology: Heraldry, the art of describing coats of arms, uses "dancy" for a line that runs along a shield's edge in a row of sharp, triangular points, like teeth. The term comes from the French heraldic adjective "danché", which is close kin to "dancetté", the name for the same pattern. The English term is also built from "dance" plus the suffix "-y". That suffix comes from Old English "-iġ", which later became Middle English "-y", and it turns a noun into an adjective meaning full of or having the quality of the noun. The English "dance" itself reaches back through Middle English "dauncen", Anglo-Norman "dauncer", and the Vulgar Latin "*dantiare", so the heraldic and dancing senses share a distant ancestry.