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.

the French term for a woman in the Middle Ages that follows an ascetic, religious life without joining a recognized religious order, i.e. the Dominicans or the Benedictines.

(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

music written in the bolero rhythm of the beguine dance

a ballroom dance that originated in the French West Indies; similar to the rumba

The Beguine is a dance, similar to a slow Rumba, that was very modestly popular in the 1930s, coming from the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, where the Martinique Beguine is a slow close dance with a roll of hips. If Cole Porter hadn't written (Don't let them) "Begin the Beguine," the dance would scarcely be remembered beyond the Caribbean. The song was introduced in Porter's "Jubilee" (1935), with a book by Moss Hart and added dialogue by Monty Woolley.