Sellinger's Round
Preserved but no longer current.
An old country dance, very popular hi Elizabethan times, in which — the dancers take hands, go round twice and back again; then all set, turn, and repeat; then lead all forward, and back, and repeat; two singles and back, set and turn single and repeat; arms all and repeat. — JOHN PLAYFORD: The English Dancing Master (1651).
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Sellinger's Round” mean?
An old country dance, very popular hi Elizabethan times, in which — the dancers take hands, go round twice and back again; then all set, turn, and repeat; then lead all forward, and back, and repeat; two singles and back, set and turn single and repeat; arms all and repeat. — JOHN PLAYFORD: The English Dancing Master (1651).
Is “Sellinger's Round” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.