bolero
/boʊ̯ˈleɹ.oʊ̯/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.49 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A lively Spanish dance in 3/4 time; also an unrelated slower-tempo dance of Cuban origin, in 2/4 time.
Example Sentences
- "Edward's attention was at first rivetted on two dancers engaged in their graceful national dance, the bolero. What a blessing to a people is a climate that encourages out-of-door amusement!"
- "He took the bolero, which was made of soft angora, and rubbed it up and down his cheek."
- "It must have been a balm to have [Naomi] Wolf come along at the dawn of a new decade and wear the badge as if it were a chic bolero jacket, as was the style back then."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bew-der.? Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-der.? Latin bullader. Spanish bola Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -ārius Spanish -ero Spanish bolerobor. English bolero Borrowed from Spanish bolero, from bola + -ero. First attested in 1787 (noun). First attested in 1834 (verb).
Origin
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /boʊ̯ˈleɹ.oʊ̯/
- British English: /bəʊ̯ˈlɛə̯.ɹəʊ̯/