v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Danced p. pr. & vb. n. Dancing. ] [ F. danser, fr. OHG. dansōn to draw; akin to dinsan to draw, Goth. apinsan, and prob. from the same root (meaning to stretch) as E. thin. See Thin. ] 1. To move with measured steps, or to a musical accompaniment; to go through, either alone or in company with others, with a regulated succession of movements, (commonly) to the sound of music; to trip or leap rhythmically. [ 1913 Webster ]

Jack shall pipe and Gill shall dance. Wither. [ 1913 Webster ]

Good shepherd, what fair swain is this
Which dances with your daughter? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To move nimbly or merrily; to express pleasure by motion; to caper; to frisk; to skip about. [ 1913 Webster ]

Then, 'tis time to dance off. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

More dances my rapt heart
Than when I first my wedded mistress saw. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Shadows in the glassy waters dance. Byron. [ 1913 Webster ]

Where rivulets dance their wayward round. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

To dance on a rope, or
To dance on nothing, to be hanged. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To cause to dance, or move nimbly or merrily about, or up and down; to dandle. [ 1913 Webster ]

To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thy grandsire loved thee well;
Many a time he danced thee on his knee. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To dance attendance, to come and go obsequiously; to be or remain in waiting, at the beck and call of another, with a view to please or gain favor. [ 1913 Webster ]

A man of his place, and so near our favor,
To dance attendance on their lordships' pleasure. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. danse, of German origin. See Dance, v. i. ] 1. The leaping, tripping, or measured stepping of one who dances; an amusement, in which the movements of the persons are regulated by art, in figures and in accord with music. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mus.) A tune by which dancing is regulated, as the minuet, the waltz, the cotillon, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The word dance was used ironically, by the older writers, of many proceedings besides dancing. [ 1913 Webster ]

Of remedies of love she knew parchance
For of that art she couth the olde dance. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dance of Death (Art), an allegorical representation of the power of death over all, -- the old, the young, the high, and the low, being led by a dancing skeleton. --
Morris dance. See Morris. --
To lead one a dance, to cause one to go through a series of movements or experiences as if guided by a partner in a dance not understood. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who dances or who practices dancing. [ 1913 Webster ]

The merry dancers, beams of the northern lights when they rise and fall alternately without any considerable change of length. See Aurora borealis, under Aurora. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A female dancer. [ Obs. ] Wyclif. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. danché dancetté, dent tooth. ] (Her.) Deeply indented; having large teeth; thus, a fess dancetté has only three teeth in the whole width of the escutcheon. [ 1913 Webster ]