Fandango
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Fandango. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
an ancient national dance of Spain, particularly in the province of Andalusia. It may be of Moorish origin. It is danced in 3/4 time by a single couple to the accompaniment of the guitar or tambourine, the dancers beating time with castanets, and the spectators by clapping their hands. It is popular among the peasantry, especially of an evening or on Sunday. The fandango has followed the Spanish-speaking people to Mexico and the South American states. The term is applied somewhat in ignorance to almost any sort of antic or sparring participated in by two people. See Dance Faneuil (fan'el) Hall, one of the landmarks of colonial Boston. It ranks with the Old South Meeting House and the Old State House. The original hall was given to the city by Peter Faneuil, a wealthy merchant who had made a fortune smuggling Jamaica rum. This hall was burned down in 1761. A new hall was erected by the city in 1762 and 1763. The funds were raised in part by lottery. The lower or basement floor was surrounded by wide sheds and provided quarters for a city market. The upper floor was used as a town hall. It was here that Otis, Sam Adams, and other fiery Revolutionary leaders addressed the citizens of Boston, gaining for the hall the name of the "Cradle of American Liberty." In 1805 the hall was enlarged and considerably altered. A fine interior gallery, resting on Doric columns, was constructed. Among noted orators of the nineteenth century who spoke from the old-fashioned rostrum, Webster, Sumner, Wendell Phillips, Choate, and Everett may be mentioned. The hall was completely renovated in 1900. Though considerably changed, it is not difficult to picture the surroundings amid which Sam Adams urged resistance to British authority. See Boston
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a lively Spanish dance in triple time, derived from the Moors. It is danced by two persons, male and female, and accompanied by the sounds of the guitar. The dancers have castanets which they beat in time to the measure, though sometimes the male dancer beats the accompaniment a tambourine. Also of this dance.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The dance itself is still going strong: fandangos survive in the flamenco repertoire, above all the fandangos de Huelva and the related malagueñas and verdiales, and flamenco as a whole was added to UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage in 2010. What has shifted is the pedigree. Both accounts confidently trace it to the Moors — Aiton's in 1910 calling it "an ancient national dance of Spain", Collier's in 1921 saying it is "derived from the Moors" — whereas modern scholarship finds no trace of the fandango before the early eighteenth century and suspects it reached Spain from the American colonies rather than from Al-Andalus. Aiton's aside about the word being used "somewhat in ignorance" for any antic between two people has also won out in English, where a fandango now usually means a fuss or a piece of nonsense.
Written for this edition, 2026.