Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

dancing-girls

noun plural but singular or plural in construction

Definition of dancing-girls

: an East Indian herb (Mantisia saltatoria) sometimes cultivated in greenhouses for its purple-and-yellow flowers

Love words?

You must — there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you are looking for one that’s only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary.

Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America's largest dictionary, with:

  • More than 250,000 words that aren't in our free dictionary
  • Expanded definitions, etymologies, and usage notes
  • Advanced search features
  • Ad free!

History and Etymology for dancing-girls

so called from the fancied resemblance of the flowers to ballet dancers

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about dancing-girls

Share dancing-girls

Dictionary Entries near dancing-girls

dance-walk

dancing disease

dancing girl

dancing-girls

dancingly

dancy

dand

Statistics for dancing-girls

Look-up Popularity

Comments on dancing-girls

What made you want to look up dancing-girls? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

cumulate

to gather or build up little by little

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Homophone Quiz

  • three-bears-two-of-them-look-like-theyre-whispering-to-a-third-bear-who-looks-chuffed-to-be-the-center-of-attention
  • In order to judge how people felt, the senator's office hired a firm to take a ______.
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Syn City

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games