from my knowledge of it, it's short for WAREhouse music, connoting the
underground
dance music of the time (1986+). it "started" in chicago according to legend.
i remember hearing something about dj frankie knuckles being part of the
genesis.
frankie knuckles was a n.y. disco dj. so from that you get the "four on the
floor"
(four beats in 4/4 time) beat on the kick drum (aka bass drum). there is
usually
an insistent hihat part (usually 8 or 16 in a measure), and then it starts to
vary after that, but the snare drum usually hits on beats 2 & 4. the beat is
what defines it as house music. after the beat, the next thing that defines
what type of house music it is, is the music and sounds over that beat.
techno
for instance has different electronic types of sounds over the beat to
comprise
the groove. ambient house usually has environmental or meditative types of
sounds
and grooves to give it that "chill" vibe...
that's my perspective (i'm sure there will be others).
t-bird
... stereotypes dj crew-providin' the vibes 310 236 0141