Vogue Comes From Rowing
Vogue means the prevailing fashion. The word originally described a boat's forward motion under oars.
Vogue means the prevailing fashion or popularity of the moment. The image is nautical: French *vogue* meant the course or forward motion of a rowed boat, from *voguer*, to row. Something *in vogue* is being carried along on the current of fashion, moving with it rather than against it. The magazine took the name in 1892, and *voguing* as a dance style emerged from Harlem ballroom culture, named for the magazine's posed photographs.
- Prevailing fashion. *In vogue.*
- To row (French). *Voguer.*
- Voguing — a dance style. *Voguing.*
- Out of vogue — no longer fashionable. *Out of vogue.*
- Italian — *voga*, rowing. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | vogue | In vogue. |
| Adjective | voguish | Voguish. |
| Verb | vogue | Voguing. |
| French | voguer | To row. |
| Italian | voga | Rowing. |
- Wide lapels are back in vogue.Fashion.
- Voguer means to row.French.
- Voguing came from ballroom culture.Dance.
Fashion words from movement
- Vogue — the forward motion of a rowed boat
- Trend — from an Old English verb meaning to turn
- Craze — from a word meaning to crack or break
- Fad — of uncertain origin, from the 1800s
- Rage — as in all the rage, from intense enthusiasm
French *vogue*, the course of a rowed boat, from *voguer*, to row, from Italian *vogare*.
Why does vogue come from rowing?
French vogue meant the forward motion of a rowed boat. Something in vogue is carried along on the current of fashion.
Where does voguing come from?
From Harlem ballroom culture, named for the posed photographs in the fashion magazine, which dancers imitated.