morris

morris — noun

1. a type of lively English folk dance, usually performed by a group of people wear

1.noun
Definition

a type of lively English folk dance, usually performed by a group of people wearing white clothes decorated with bells and carrying sticks or handkerchiefs, often at outdoor festivals and celebrations

Example

Élise joined the village morris group at sixteen and still dances with them today.

uncountable noun before 'group': morris group

The morris dancers wore white shirts, black trousers, and small bells tied around their knees.

compound noun: morris dancer

Common collocations
  • morris dancer
  • morris side
  • morris troupe
  • morris bells
  • morris dancing
  • morris tradition
  • morris festival
Synonyms
  • folk dancing

    a broader term covering many traditional dance forms from various cultures; morris is one specific type of English folk dance

  • country dancing

    another English folk dance tradition, but done in pairs or sets rather than the group formations typical of morris

Grammar Patterns

morris + noun (e.g. morris dancer, morris side)

Usage Note

Morris is an uncountable noun. A group of morris dancers is traditionally called a 'side' rather than a 'team' or 'troupe', though 'troupe' is also used.

Common Mistakes

morris dance' (treating it as a dance that can be counted, when it refers to a type/class).
morris dancing' or 'morris
'They do morris every Saturday.' — 'Morris' is uncountable, so you don't say 'a morris'.

Word family

  • morris dancer
    noun
  • morris dancing
    noun

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Morris, folk dancing, and country dancing all refer to traditional dance forms, but they differ in style, origin, and performance. Morris is a specific English tradition in which dancers wear white clothing decorated with bells and use sticks, handkerchiefs, or swords. The dancers move in coordinated groups called 'sides', often performing outdoors at seasonal festivals like May Day. Folk dancing is the broadest term — it covers any dance tradition passed down within a community, from Irish céilí to Bulgarian hora to Japanese bon odori. Country dancing is another English tradition, but it is usually performed by couples or sets of couples moving through figures, without the bells or props that characterise morris. For example: 'The village green was full of morris dancers on May morning.' vs. 'They taught us some traditional English folk dances at the school assembly.' vs. 'The ballroom was filled with people doing country dancing in long lines.'

morris ↗folk dancingcountry dancing

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • morris dancing
  • morris dancer
  • morris side
  • morris bells

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'morris' is a shortened form of 'morris dance', which comes from Middle English 'moreys daunce', meaning 'Moorish dance'. The name was used in the 15th century because the dance was thought to imitate the style of Moorish dancers from North Africa and Spain, though the dance itself developed within English village traditions.