Flamenco
/fləˈmɛŋ.koʊ/noun
A style of Andalusian music and dance marked by intense singing, guitar, and rhythmic hand clapping; also a native of Flanders in older Spanish usage.
Did you know?The dance name’s origin is disputed, but one old theory links flamenco to Spanish slang for a Flemish person, showing how a word can travel from ethnicity to art and become something entirely new.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pleh₂-
“to flow, to fly, to float”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*flaam- / *flam-
“bright, blazing; later associated with flame-like appearance”
Old Dutch
Old Dutch
flāming
“Flemish person; from the region of Flanders”
16th Century
Spanish
flamenco
“Fleming; a person from Flanders, especially in Spain”
18th–19th Century
Spanish
flamenco
“Eventually associated with Andalusian song, dance, and gitano performance culture”
Modern English
English
flamenco
“The Spanish musical and dance tradition”