nautch

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindustani नाच / ناچ (nāc).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɔːt͡ʃ/
• Rhymes: -ɔːtʃ

Noun

nautch (plural nautches)

1. A dance in South Asia, performed by professional dancing girls. [from 18th c.]
   • 1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin, published 2005, page 65:

     ‘We will punish no one, no one,’ he repeated, ‘and in the evening we will give a great banquet with a nautch, and lovely girls shall shine on every side of the tank […].’

Derived terms

• nautch girl

Anagrams

• chaunt