Milonga
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A form of music originating in Argentina, Uruguay, and Southern Brazil. countable, uncountable
"In “Gath & Chaves,” a section named after a department store, women pose as mannequins but come to life to dance a tango, a waltz, a milonga and, finally, a mystifying number called “Hound Dog.”"
- 2 A dance which accompanies this music. countable, uncountable
Example
More examples"In “Gath & Chaves,” a section named after a department store, women pose as mannequins but come to life to dance a tango, a waltz, a milonga and, finally, a mystifying number called “Hound Dog.”"
Etymology
Borrowed from Spanish milonga, in turn from Brazilian Portuguese milonga (“chant”). Theories connect the word to the nineteenth century slave trade between South America and Africa. The ultimate source is unknown, but may relate to Kimbundu mulonga (“word”), or Kongo nlonga or Punu mulonga (“line, row”) in reference to dancers.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.