beguine

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

Beguine
    n 1: (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: music written in the bolero rhythm of the beguine dance
    3: a ballroom dance that originated in the French West Indies;
       similar to the rumba

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Beguine \Be`guine"\, n. [F. b['e]guine; LL. beguina, beghina;
   fr. Lambert le B[`e]gue (the Stammerer) the founder of the
   order. (Du Cange.)]
   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.
   [1913 Webster]

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