Why the name 'contra dance'? English country dancing gained a certain legitimacy in the 17th century. The French, who thought that they invented country dancing (as well as anything else culturally significant), and who were upset at the notion that the English should receive credit for anything, converted the name 'country dance' to French contredans (which conveniently translates as 'opposites dance'), then turned around and claimed that the English term was a corruption of the French! Later, the French term evolved in the young U.S.A. into "contra dance."