Foxtrotting

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. A type of dance characterized by a lively and rhythmic pattern, often performed in pairs or groups
2. The act of engaging in a specific genre of ballroom dancing that includes a smooth, flowing style with syncopated steps
3. To participate in a dance form that blends fast walking and slow gliding movements, typically set to a jazz or pop music backdrop

Etymology: The verb comes from "foxtrot", which is simply "fox" joined to "trot". The trot is the old horse gait, a quick, bouncy pace, and the fox is the animal, so the pairing reads as a fox's trotting gait. The dance took its name from the step, a sequence of short and long steps that bounces along in a trot-like rhythm. "Foxtrotting" is the ongoing form of that verb: the act of dancing the foxtrot itself. Its meaning therefore rests on the dance rather than on any literal reference to a fox running, so the word carries the dance's name in its sense.

Synonyms: dancing, twirling