Definition

1. Noun:
   • An early 20th-century avant-garde art movement: "Dada" refers to a cultural and artistic movement that began in Europe around 1916. It was characterized by its rejection of logic, reason, and aesthetic conventions, embracing nonsense, irrationality, and anti-bourgeois protest.
   • An informal term for father: "Dada" is a child's word for father, often one of the first words a baby speaks.

Examples

• Noun (Art Movement):
  • The dada exhibition featured readymades and chaotic collages.
  • Artists like Marcel Duchamp and Hugo Ball were central figures in dada.
• Noun (Father):
  • The toddler pointed at the man and said, "My dada!"
  • He loves it when his daughter calls him dada.

Advanced Usage

• "Dadaist" (adjective): Relating to or characteristic of the Dada movement.
  • The performance had a Dadaist sensibility, full of absurdity and chance.
• "Dadaism" (noun): The principles and practices of the Dada movement.
  • His work was heavily influenced by Dadaism.

Variants and Related Words

• Dadaist (noun): A proponent or practitioner of Dada.
  • The Dadaists sought to dismantle traditional art.
• Dadaistic (adjective): Another form meaning relating to Dada.
  • It was a Dadaistic gesture meant to provoke.

Synonyms

• (Art Movement): Avant-garde, anti-art.
• (Father): Dad, daddy, papa, pop (informal).

Related Idioms

• There is no specific idiom for "dada," but the art movement is associated with the concept of "anti-art." This refers to works or actions that challenge the very definition and institutions of art, a core tenet of Dada.

Noun

1. a nihilistic art movement (especially in painting) that flourished in Europe early in the 20th century; based on irrationality and negation of the accepted laws of beauty
2. an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk