Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
dictionary thesaurus view recents

dancing-girls

noun plural but singular or plural in construction
Save Word

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

Statistics for dancing-girls

Cite this Entry

“Dancing-girls.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dancing-girls. Accessed 16 December 2019.

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

mellifluous

Listen to the pronounciation of mellifluous

having a smooth flowing sound

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Great Scrabble Words—A Quiz

  • scrabble tiles that read scrabble quiz
  • Which of the following Q-without-U words means the number five in cards or dice?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Citation

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