beguine Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun (Roman Catholic Church) a member of a lay sisterhood (one of several founded in the Netherlands in the 12th and 13th centuries); though not taking religious vows the sisters followed an austere life
  2. noun music written in the bolero rhythm of the beguine dance
  3. noun a ballroom dance that originated in the French West Indies; similar to the rumba

WordNet

Be`guine" noun
Etymology
F. béguine; LL. beguina, beghina; fr. Lambert le Bègue (the Stammerer) the founder of the order. (Du Cange.)
Definitions
  1. A woman belonging to one of the religious and charitable associations or communities in the Netherlands, and elsewhere, whose members live in beguinages and are not bound by perpetual vows.

Webster 1913