Belly Dance Definition

noun

A dance probably of Middle Eastern origin, traditionally performed solo by a woman and characterized by sinuous hip and abdominal movements.

American Heritage

A dance of E Mediterranean origin, typically performed by a woman, characterized by a twisting of the abdomen, sinuous hip movements, etc.

Webster's New World

A performance of this dance.

American Heritage

A traditional form of dance from the Middle East, characterized by movements of the abdominal muscles.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

adjective

Attributive form of belly dance, noun.

Belly-dance expert.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Belly Dance

Singular:

belly dance

Plural:

belly-dances

OED has as earliest attestation an explicit gloss of 1899, "The danse du ventre (literally, "belly-dance") is of Turkish origin" (in Bohemian Paris of to-day), but there are slightly earlier occurrences, in In the land of the lion and sun; or, Modern Persia (1891) of Persian dance; in Frank Leslie's popular monthly (vol. 36, 1893) "These women dance, not with their feet and arms but with their stomach. Hence their abdominal contortions are styled the 'belly dance.'"; and in Untrodden fields of anthropology (1898) in reference to African (Wolof and Landoma (Baga)) dance.

From Wiktionary
A loan translation of French danse du ventre. First attested in English in the 1890s.

From Wiktionary