Quickstepping

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Describing a lively and energetic dance characterized by rapid foot movements and quick transitions
2. Denoting a style of movement that is brisk and lively, often associated with upbeat music and energetic rhythms
3. Referring to a cheerful and rapid form of dance that emphasizes swift and agile footwork throughout the performance

Etymology: "Quick" once meant "alive," as in the phrase "the quick and the dead." It comes from Old English "cwic," and its sense of speed developed later. A quickstep was originally a pace, not a dance. In military drill, the quickstep was the faster of two marching paces, set against the slower standard step, and the term was in use in English by the late 1700s. The ballroom dance took its name from this marching pace. It emerged in the 1920s, when dancers sped up the foxtrot. The verb is a later formation, made by turning the noun into an action, which is how a dancer ends up quickstepping across a floor.