flamenco
noun
Did you know?
The Spanish word flamenco means “Flemish,” and its later usage in the sense “Gypsy-like,” especially in reference to a song, dance, and guitar-music style, has inspired a number of hypotheses about why the word flamenco came to be associated with Gypsies; however, all of these theories seem implausible. Perhaps more promisingly, in the later 19th century flamenco also meant “jaunty, cocky” and, in reference to women, “provocatively attractive,” The suggestion has been made that “Gypsylike” is a secondary development from these senses. The ordinary Spanish word for “Gypsy” is gitano, which like the English Gypsy, is altered from a word meaning “Egyptian.”
Examples of flamenco in a Sentence
Alex Badia, Footwear News, 21 Sep. 2025
Drawing from her own background as a flamenco dancer and working in a variety of mediums, Pazos explores the emotional depth, cultural richness and dynamic movement of the art form.
—Anne Gelhaus, Mercury News, 21 Sep. 2025
Evocative both musically and lyrically, the pop song with hints of flamenco and rap speaks to the search for true love.
—Tere Aguilera, Billboard, 19 Sep. 2025
Varda dresses her up as Joan of Arc, Caravaggio’s Bacchus, the Virgin Mary, a cowboy, and a flamenco dancer, as if to suggest that Birkin’s mystery is itself a symbol, one as important to modern culture as Renaissance painting and the mother of Christ.
—Anahid Nersessian, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flamenco
Cite this Entry
“Flamenco.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flamenco. Accessed 23 Sep. 2025.
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