Beguine
//bəˈɡiːn// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A ballroom dance, similar to a slow rumba, originally from French West Indies and popularized abroad largely through the song "Begin the Beguine"; the music for the dance.
"When they begin the beguine, / It brings back the sound of music so tender / It brings back the night of tropical splendor, / It brings back a memory ever green."
- 2 A member of a semimonastic Christian lay religious order active in Northern Europe, particularly in the Low Countries in the 13th–16th centuries. historical
- 3 a ballroom dance that originated in the French West Indies; similar to the rumba wordnet
- 4 music written in the bolero rhythm of the beguine dance wordnet
- 5 (Roman Catholic Church) a member of a lay sisterhood (one of several founded in the Netherlands in the 12th and 13th centuries); though not taking religious vows the sisters followed an austere life wordnet
Example
More examples"When they begin the beguine, / It brings back the sound of music so tender / It brings back the night of tropical splendor, / It brings back a memory ever green."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From American French béguine, from French béguin.
Etymology 2
From Old French béguine.
Related phrases
More for "beguine"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.