cantilena
tlˈi 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
1730–40; < Italian < Latin cantilēna refrain, perhaps by dissimilation from *cantilēla, derivative of cantus song; see cant1
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To cantilena
Collins
World English Dictionary
cantilena (ˌkæntɪˈleɪnə) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —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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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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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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