Foxtrot

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈfɒkstɹɒt/

Definitions

1. A smooth ballroom dance in 4/4 time characterized by flowing movements ; the word used to represent the letter F in the NATO phonetic alphabet
2. A type of partnered dance noted for graceful steps and rhythm in common time ; a code term to denote the letter F in military and aviation communications
3. A popular social dance with continuous, progressive steps in quadruple meter ; a spoken word employed to identify the letter F clearly over radio or telephone

Etymology: The name joins "fox," as in the animal, with "trot," a horse's gait, and the dance got its name from the steps rather than from any creature. Early foxtrot music was ragtime, and the dance was built around quick, short steps and slow ones, so the combination of a sly-sounding animal and a brisk pace suited a lively new style. The sense of "trot" as a gait is older than the dance by a long stretch. Its roots are in the Old French "trot," which came from the verb "trotter," meaning to move at a steady jog. English picked the word up for horses moving in a pair-of-legs pattern, and the dance borrowed that bouncing rhythm when it named its steps. The "fox" element is the part most people wonder about, and it is not explained by the source beyond the plain fact that it is the animal word. What is clear is that the noun and the trot were combined to name a partner dance, and that the verb sense of dancing it came from the same compound.

Synonyms: dance, step, waltz, sway, move