/pahs pyay"/ , n. , pl. passepieds /-pyay", -pyayz"/ .
1. a lively dance in triple meter popular in France in the 17th and 18th centuries.
2. a dance form in moderately fast 3 / 8 or 6 / 8 meter, occasionally constituting part of the 17th- and 18th-century instrumental suite.
[ 1685-95; ]