A moderately fast, stately French dance popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, or the music for such a dance.
From French 'gavotte,' possibly derived from Gavots, people from the Dauphiné region of France. The dance became popular at European courts during the Baroque period.
The gavot was fancy enough for kings but simple enough for common people—it's basically the dance version of 'popular appeal,' which is why it spread across Europe so quickly.
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