Definition of dada

The origin of the word "Dada" is attributed to a chance encounter between two key figures of the Dada movement: Hugo Ball, a German poet, and Tristan Tzara, a Romanian-born French poet and artist. In May 1916, Ball and Tzara were meeting to discuss their writing and artistic endeavors. Ball, frustrated with the emptiness of the dominant Futurist and Constructivist movements, cried out "Dada!" which was the last word he had written in a book on mysticism. Tzara laughed, and the word stuck. As a spontaneous, anarchic, and irreverent movement, Dada was born, seeking to reject the cultural norms and establish a new art form that was absurd, playful, and anti-authoritarian.