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Cadency

 - 4 dictionary results

ca⋅den⋅cy

  [keyd-n-see]
Use Cadency in a Sentence
–noun, plural -cies.
cadence (defs. 1–7).
Origin:
1620–30; cad(ence) + -ency

ca⋅dence

  [keyd-ns] noun, verb, -denced, -denc⋅ing.
–noun Also, cadency.
1. rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words: the cadence of language.
2. (in free verse) a rhythmic pattern that is nonmetrically structured.
3. the beat, rate, or measure of any rhythmic movement: The chorus line danced in rapid cadence.
4. the flow or rhythm of events, esp. the pattern in which something is experienced: the frenetic cadence of modern life.
5. a slight falling in pitch of the voice in speaking or reading, as at the end of a declarative sentence.
6. the general modulation of the voice.
7. Music. a sequence of notes or chords that indicates the momentary or complete end of a composition, section, phrase, etc.
–verb (used with object)
8. to make rhythmical.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < MF < It cadenza; see cadenza

Synonyms:
3. tempo, pulse, rhythm, meter.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Cadency
ca·den·cy   (kād'n-sē)   
n.   pl. ca·den·cies
Cadence.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

cadence 
c.1384, "flow of rhythm in verse or music," from M.Fr. cadence, O.It. cadenza "conclusion of a movement in music," lit. "a falling," from V.L. *cadentia, from L. cadens prp. of cadere "to fall" (see case (1)). In 16c., sometimes used literally for "an act of falling." The It. form cadenza was borrowed 1836 as a musical term for "ornamental passage near the close of a song or solo."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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