A moderately fast ballroom dance in 2/4 time, popular in the 19th century; a piece of music for this dance.
From French 'galop,' possibly from 'galoper' (to gallop), as the dance resembles a horse's galloping gait with its quick, bouncy rhythm.
The 'galop' was the viral dance craze of 1800s Europe—it was fast, fun, and shocking to some for being too wild, making it similar to how rock and roll scandalized the 1950s.
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