a nihilistic artistic movement of the early 20th century in W Europe and the US, founded on principlesof irrationality, incongruity, and irreverence towards accepted aesthetic criteria
Derived forms
Dadaist (ˈDadaist)
noun, adjective
Dadaistic (ˌDadaˈistic)
adjective
Dadaistically (ˌDadaˈistically)
adverb
Word origin
C20: from French, from a children's word for hobbyhorse, the name being arbitrarilychosen
dada in American English
(ˈdɑˌdɑ; ˈdɑdə)
noun
[alsoD-]
a movement (1916-22) in painting, sculpture, and literature characterized by fantastic, abstract, or incongruous creations, by rejection of all accepted conventions, and by nihilistic satire
: also ˈdadaˌism
Derived forms
dadaist (ˈdadaist)
adjective, noun
dadaistic (ˌdadaˈistic)
adjective
Word origin
Fr, lit., hobbyhorse (< baby talk, altered < ? dia dia, giddap), selected by Tristan Tzara, leader of the cult, because of its resemblanceto meaningless babble, as symbolic of the movement