melisma
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom 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
editNoun
editmelisma (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
edita 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
editCzech
editNoun
editmelisma n
Declension
editDeclension 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
editFurther reading
editPortuguese
editPronunciation
edit
- Hyphenation: me‧lis‧ma
Noun
editmelisma m (plural melismas)
Spanish
editNoun
editmelisma m (plural melismas)
Further reading
edit- “melisma”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Categories:
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- en:Music
- English terms with quotations
- Czech lemmas
- Czech nouns
- Czech neuter nouns
- cs:Music
- Czech ma-stem neuter nouns
- Czech nouns with reducible stem
- Portuguese 3-syllable words
- Portuguese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Portuguese lemmas
- Portuguese nouns
- Portuguese countable nouns
- Portuguese nouns with irregular gender
- Portuguese masculine nouns
- pt:Music
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish countable nouns
- Spanish nouns with irregular gender
- Spanish masculine nouns