ragtime

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a style of music, especially for piano, with a strongly syncopated melody over a steady rhythm

   The pianist played ragtime while the audience clapped to the beat.

2. 2
   noun

   a piece of music written in the ragtime style

   She ended the concert with a lively ragtime by Scott Joplin.

An American English formation from ragged or rag plus time, probably describing the style’s broken, syncopated rhythm. The name became established in the late nineteenth century.

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