melisma
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Ancient Greek μέλισμα (mélisma, “song”), from μελίζω (melízō, “(I) sing, modulate; (I) celebrate in song”), from μέλος (mélos, “song, tune, melody; limb, part; member”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
melisma (countable and uncountable, plural melismas or melismata)
- (music, countable) A passage of several notes sung to one syllable of text.
- 1985, Anthony Burgess, Kingdom of the Wicked:
- A choir sang one of the Lamentations of Jeremiah. The mournful melisma accompanied the slow procession to the palace built by Herod the Great, at present untenanted.
- 2007, Michael Chabon, Gentlemen of the Road, Sceptre, published 2008, page 38:
- At the top of the hill in the archway of the main house, an eyeless old man sat on a bucket, scratching at a two-stringed gourd, warbling weird melismas on a madman's text.
- (music, uncountable) The use of such passages.
Translations edit
a passage of several notes sung to one syllable of text
References edit
- “melisma”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams edit
Czech edit
Noun edit
melisma n
Declension edit
Declension of melisma (ma-stem neuter reducible)
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | melisma | melismata |
genitive | melismatu | melismat |
dative | melismatu | melismatům |
accusative | melisma | melismata |
vocative | melisma | melismata |
locative | melismatu | melismatech |
instrumental | melismatem | melismaty |
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
Portuguese edit
Pronunciation edit
- Hyphenation: me‧lis‧ma
Noun edit
melisma m (plural melismas)
Spanish edit
Noun edit
melisma m (plural melismas)
Further reading edit
- “melisma”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014