passamezzo

noun

pas·​sa·​mez·​zo

variants or passemezzo

ˌpäsəˈmet(ˌ)sō,

-ed(ˌ)zō,

-e(ˌ)zō

plural -s

: an old originally Italian dance in duple time resembling the pavan but about twice as fast

also : the music of this dance

Word History

Etymology

Italian passamezzo, passo e mezzo, from the phrase passo e mezzo step and a half

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