cotillion
/kəˈtɪljən
/noun
1An elaborate 18th-century French dance based on the contredanse.She brushed off his request to dance the second cotillion with him, using the graceful, courteous snubbery he had spent so long teaching her....
- They danced the first cotillion mechanically.
- The group continued to talk until Tony led Christina out onto the floor to dance a cotillion.
1.1US A quadrille.
2US A formal ball, especially one at which debutantes are presented.The Knights' social functions - formal dinners, balls, and cotillions - also reflected members' aspirations toward middle-class refinement....
- The old Society page, with its news of old-family weddings, cotillions, and charity balls, began everywhere to be replaced in newspapers by the Style page, a very different thing.
- I've never been much for balls and cotillions though I have to attend them endlessly.
Origin
Early 18th century: from French cotillon, literally 'petticoat dance', diminutive of cotte, from Old French cote.