cantilena

can·ti·le·na

[kan-tl-ee-nuh]
noun
a simple, lyric, melodic passage for voice or instrument.

Origin:
1730–40; < Italian < Latin cantilēna refrain, perhaps by dissimilation from *cantilēla, derivative of cantus song; see cant1

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Collins
World English Dictionary
cantilena (ˌkæntɪˈleɪnə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
a smooth flowing style in the writing of vocal music
 
[C18: Italian, from Latin cantilēna a song]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10
Cantilena is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

cantilena

in late medieval and early Renaissance music, term for certain vocal forms as they were known in the 15th century; also a musical texture used widely in both secular and sacred compositions of that century. Cantilena style is characterized by a predominant vocal top line supported by less complex and usually instrumental tenor and countertenor lines; it occurred both in homophonic, or chordal, music and in polyphonic music having a contrapuntal (interwoven melody) texture

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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