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counterpoint

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coun⋅ter⋅point

  [koun-ter-point]
Use counterpoint in a Sentence
–noun
1. Music. the art of combining melodies.
2. Music. the texture resulting from the combining of individual melodic lines.
3. a melody composed to be combined with another melody.
4. Also called counterpoint rhythm. Prosody. syncopation (def. 2).
5. any element that is juxtaposed and contrasted with another.
–verb (used with object)
6. to emphasize or clarify by contrast or juxtaposition.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME < MF contrepoint, trans. of ML (cantus) contrāpūnctus lit., (song) pointed or pricked against, referring to notes of an accompaniment written over or under the notes of a plainsong. See counter-, point
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syn⋅co⋅pa⋅tion

  [sing-kuh-pey-shuhn, sin-]
–noun
1. Music. a shifting of the normal accent, usually by stressing the normally unaccented beats.
2. something, as a rhythm or a passage of music, that is syncopated.
3. Also called counterpoint, counterpoint rhythm. Prosody. the use of rhetorical stress at variance with the metrical stress of a line of verse, as the stress on and and of in Come praise Colonus' horses and come praise/The wine-dark of the wood's intricacies.
4. Grammar. syncope.
Origin:
1525–35; < ML syncopātiōn- (s. of syncopātiō), equiv. to LL syncopāt(us) (see syncopate ) + -iōn- -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To counterpoint
coun·ter·point   (koun'tər-point')   
n.  

  1. Music

    1. Melodic material that is added above or below an existing melody.

    2. The technique of combining two or more melodic lines in such a way that they establish a harmonic relationship while retaining their linear individuality.

    3. A composition or piece that incorporates or consists of contrapuntal writing.

    4. A contrasting but parallel element, item, or theme.

    5. Use of contrasting elements in a work of art.

    1. A contrasting but parallel element, item, or theme.

    2. Use of contrasting elements in a work of art.

tr.v.   coun·ter·point·ed, coun·ter·point·ing, coun·ter·points

  1. Music To write or arrange (music) in counterpoint.

  2. To set in contrast: "The complex, clotted computer talk sadly counterpoints the simplistic nature of the characters" (Rhoda Koenig).

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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Cultural Dictionary

counterpoint

The use of two or more melodies at the same time in a piece of music; it was an important part of baroque music. Certain composers, such as Johann Sebastian Bach, have been especially skillful at counterpoint.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

syncopation 
1532, "contraction of a word by omission of middle sounds," from M.L. syncopationem (nom. syncopatio) "a shortening or contraction," from syncopare "to shorten," also "to faint away, to swoon," from L.L. syncope (see syncope). Musical sense is attested from 1597.

counterpoint 
1423, of stitching, from O.Fr. cuilte contrepointe "quilt stitched through and through," altered from coute pointe, from M.L. culcita puncta "quilted mattress," from L. culcita "cushion" + puncta, fem. pp. of pungere "to prick, stab." Of music, 1530, from M.Fr. contrepoint, from M.L. contrapunctum, from L. contra + puncta, with reference to the indication of musical notes by "pricking" with a pointed pen over or under the original melody on a manuscript.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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