Belly dance (Arabic: رقص شرقي‎) is a Western term for a traditional Egyptian dance form. Some American devotees refer to it simply as "Middle Eastern Dance." In the Egyptian Arabic language it is known as raqs sharqi (رقص شرقي; literally "oriental dance") or sometimes raqs baladi (رقص بلدي; literally "dance of country", and so "national" or "folk" dance). The term "raqs sharqi" may have originated in Egypt.Belly dance is called tsiftetelli (τσιφτετέλι), çiftetelli in Turkish. The term "belly dance" is a creation of Orientalism, first used in English in 1899, and translating in French to "danse du ventre."