Standard Lemma guide

cotillion

noun · verb · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /kəʊtɪlˈjɒ̃/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /kətɪlˈjɒ̃/
  • General-American: /koʊtɪlˈjɑ̃/
  • General-American: /kətɪlˈjɑ̃/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A bold dance performed in groups of eight where women lift their skirts to display their ankles.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: dance, dancing, hobbies, lifestyle, sports

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The music regulating the cotillion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

Examples

  • 1848 I kept a parlor open for the reception of visitors, many came here to practise with me, and many more to listen to us—several young men put themselves under my tuition, and although I had never been taught myself, they progressed finely in their studies and I soon brought out, not only the best field music, but also for dinners, balls, cotilion and tea parties, weddings, &c. THRILLING SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF THE DISTINGUISHED CHIEF OKAH TUBBEE ALIAS, WM. CHUBBEE, Son of the Head Chief, Mosholeh Tubbee, of theChoctaw Nation of Indians. BY REV. L. L. ALLEN, AUTHOR OF “PENCILLINGS UPON THE RIO GRANDE,” &c. NEW YORK, 1848. ENTERED according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1848, by Okah Tubbee, alias William Chubbee, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York. AN ESSAY UPON THE INDIAN CHARACTER.http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/tubbee1848/tubbee1848.xml

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A kind of woollen material for women's skirts.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: business, manufacturing, textiles

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Ellipsis of cotillion ball.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To dance the cotillion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive, rare

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

a lively dance originating in France in the 18th century

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cotilion

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: ballroom dancing, ballroom dance

7

noun

Meaning 7

a ball at which young ladies are presented to society

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cotilion

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: ball, formal

History

Etymology

First use appears c. 1750, in the sense of the dance, from French cotillon (“petticoat”), extended to the dance because of the distinctive lift of dress revealing the petticoat, from cotte (“dress”) + -illon (diminutive). Said to derive from the then-popular song Ma commère, quand je danse, mon cotillion va-t-il bien.

Across languages

Translations

19 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: cotilló — bold dance
  • Danish: kotillon — bold dance
  • Dutch: cotillon — bold dance
  • Estonian: kotiljon — bold dance
  • Finnish: kotiljon — bold dance
  • Finnish: kotiljonki — bold dance
  • French: cotillon — bold dance
  • Galician: cotillón — bold dance
  • German: Kotillon — bold dance
  • Icelandic: kotiljon — bold dance
  • Italian: cotillon — bold dance
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kotiljong — bold dance
  • Polish: kotylion — bold dance
  • Russian: котильон (kotilʹon) — bold dance
  • Spanish: cotillón — bold dance
  • Swedish: kotiljong — bold dance
  • Tagalog: kotilyon — bold dance
  • Turkish: kotilyon — bold dance
  • Vietnamese: côticông — bold dance