Morris

views updated May 09 2018

Morris, Morrice. A type of Eng. folk dance for men, assoc. with Whitsuntide and perf. to the acc. of pipe, tabor, fiddle, concertina, and accordeon. The dancers wear bells on their shins: sometimes they are dressed to represent characters (the Queen of the May, the Fool, etc.). The mus. is usually in duple or quadruple time. Some Eng. villages possess Morris troupes whose origin goes back to an unknown antiquity. Conjecture that the dance derives from the moresca is unsubstantiated.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE

morris

views updated May 29 2018

morris dance by persons in fancy costume representing characters esp. from the Robin Hood story. XV. orig. in mor(e)ys DANCE; var. of MOORISH.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

Morris

views updated Jun 27 2018

Morris

a group of morris dancers, collectively, 1500.

Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms

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