9 August 2009

Word of the moment 1: Melismatic

The first in an occasional series (maybe).

If the Dirty Projectors and friends didn't do what they do, this word wouldn't have been spotted skulking in corners quite as often as it has been lately. Good work, Messrs Longstreth and Baldwin!

Definition courtesy of MSN Encarta:

me·lis·ma [ mə lízmə ] (plural me·lis·ma·ta [ mə lízmətə ] or me·lis·mas)

noun

Definition:

1. several notes sung on one syllable: a decorative phrase or passage in vocal music, especially one in which one syllable of a plainsong text is sung to a melodic sequence of several notes

2. embellishment of melody: an embellishment or decoration of a melody

3. music
Same as cadenza


[Late 19th century. Via modern Latin<> melizein "sing" < melos "song"]

- mel·is·mat·ic [ mèlliz máttik ] adjective

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