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czar·das

(chärdäsh′)

1. An intricate Hungarian dance characterized by variations in tempo.

2. The music for this dance.

[Hungarian csárdás, from csárda, wayside tavern, from Serbo-Croatian čardāk, watchtower, from Ottoman Turkish čārṭāk, čardak, hut, pergola (equivalent to modern Turkish çardak), from Persian chār ṭāq, from chahār ṭāq, four-cornered vault : chahār, four (from Old Iranian cathwārō; see k^wetwer- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots) + ṭāq, vault (from Arabic, arch; see ṭwq in the Appendix of Semitic roots).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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