butoh

Meaning

Noun

• A form of Japanese contemporary dance.

Origin

• From Japanese 舞踏, from Middle Chinese 舞踏 (mjú-táw "dance") (compare Mandarin wǔdǎo 舞蹈, Cantonese mou⁵ dou⁶ 舞蹈), from Old Chinese 舞蹈 (*kə.maʔ tˁawʔ "dance [for joy or praise]"), from 舞 ("dance") + 蹈 ("step").
• The trailing “h” is to indicate the pronunciation – compare bokeh.