1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Gavotte

GAVOTTE (a French word adopted from the Provençal gavoto), properly the dance of the Gavots or natives of Gap, a district in the Upper Alps, in the old province of Dauphiné. It is a dance of a brisk and lively character, somewhat resembling the minuet, but quicker and less stately (see Dance); hence also the use of this name for a corresponding form of musical composition.