Result from Foreign Dictionaries (2 entries found)
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Beguine \Be`guine"\, n. [F. b['e]guine; LL. beguina, beghina;
fr. Lambert le B[`e]gue (the Stammerer) the founder of the
order. (Du Cange.)]
A woman belonging to one of the religious and charitable
associations or communities in the Netherlands, and
elsewhere, whose members live in beguinages and are not bound
by perpetual vows.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
Beguine
n 1: (Roman Catholic Church) a member of a lay sisterhood (one
of several founded in the Netherlands in the 12th and 13th
centuries); though not taking religious vows the sisters
followed an austere life
2: music written in the bolero rhythm of the beguine dance
3: a ballroom dance that originated in the French West Indies;
similar to the rumba