The term csardas or czardas refers to a traditional Hungarian dance and is also the title of my beloved violin piece. It was introduced into the English language in 1860 from Hungarian. The word csarda means “tavern” in Hungarian, as this type of music was commonly played in taverns. The Hungarian term csarda was borrowed from the Turkish noun cardak, which had various meanings related to different types of buildings. The Turkish word itself originated from Persian cartaq, which described a specific type of arch with a pointed top. The literal translation of cartaq is “four arch”, derived from the Persian words for “four” and “arch”. Usage of the terms csardas and czardas peaked in the 1890s, 1900s, and 1930s according to Google NGrams, but has since significantly decreased.
