passepied

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passepied (Fr.; Eng. ‘paspy’). Pass-foot. Lively dance in 3/8 or 6/8 said to have originated among sailors of Basse-Bretagne and introduced to Paris in late 16th cent. by street dancers, becoming popular at courts of Louis XIV and Louis XV. Examples in Fr. operas of the period, e.g. by Campra. The term was incorrectly applied by Debussy to a 2-in-a-measure piece.

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