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| n. 1. A style of popular Brazilian music derived from the samba but with more melodic and harmonic complexity and less emphasis on percussion. 2. A lively Brazilian dance that is similar to the samba. [Brazilian Portuguese : Brazilian Portuguese slang bossa, trend, flair, cool style (from Portuguese bossa, hump, bump, protuberance (such as found on the skull and formerly interpreted by phrenologists as indicative of a certain talent), from French bosse, hump, bump, from Middle French, from Old French boce; see BOSS2) + Portuguese nova, feminine of novo, new (from Old Portuguese, from Latin novus; see newo- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).] |
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