1. A lively French dance of the 17th and 18th centuries, similar to a minuet but faster and with a livelier rhythm.
Usage: historical; music
2. A piece of music composed for or in the style of the passepied dance, typically in triple meter.
Usage: music

Examples

• The baroque composer included a passepied in the suite.
• Musicians performed a lively passepied at the historical reenactment.
• The passepied was popular among French nobility during the 18th century.
• Bach wrote several passepieds for his instrumental works.
• The dance master taught the court ladies the steps of the passepied.