cotillion noun & verb. [kǝ'tɪljǝn] In senses A.1, B. also cotillon [kǝ'tɪljǝn; kɔtij (pl. same)]. E18.
[French cotillon petticoat, dance, dim. of cotte COAT noun.]
A. noun.
1. Any of several dances with elaborate steps and figures; spec. (a) an 18th-cent. French social dance based on the contredanse; (b) US a quadrille; (c) (in full German cotillion) a complex dance in which one couple leads the other couples through a variety of figures and there is a continual change of partners. E18.

2. A formal ball, esp. one at which débutantes are presented. US. L19.
b. verb intrans. Dance a cotillion. M19.

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