Galliard
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A lively dance, popular in 16th- and 17th-century Europe. countable, uncountable
"[…] sweet to us it is to behold delightful dancing, be it the stately splendour of the Pavane which progresseth as large clouds at sun-down that pass by in splendour; or the graceful Allemande; or the Fandango, which goeth by degrees from languorous beauty to the swiftness and passion of Bacchanals dancing on the high lawns under a summer moon that hangeth in the pine trees; or the joyous maze of the Galliard; or the Gigue, dear to the Foliots."
- 2 The triple-time music for this dance. countable, uncountable
- 3 A brisk, merry person. countable, dated, uncountable
"Thus every Gibelline hath got his Guelf ; But Selden he's a Galliard by himself ; And well may be ; there's more Divines in him , Than in all this their Jewish Sanhedrim ;"
- 4 An intermediate size of type alternatively equated with brevier (by Didot points) or bourgeois (by Fournier points and by size). dated, uncountable
- 1 Gay; brisk; active. dated
Example
More examples"[…] sweet to us it is to behold delightful dancing, be it the stately splendour of the Pavane which progresseth as large clouds at sun-down that pass by in splendour; or the graceful Allemande; or the Fandango, which goeth by degrees from languorous beauty to the swiftness and passion of Bacchanals dancing on the high lawns under a summer moon that hangeth in the pine trees; or the joyous maze of the Galliard; or the Gigue, dear to the Foliots."
Related phrases
More for "galliard"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.