Nearby Words
noun
1.
Music.
a.
a melody or counterpoint accompanying a simple musical theme and usually written above it.
b.
(in part music) the soprano.
c.
a song or melody.
2.
a variation upon anything; comment on a subject.
adjective
3.
Music (chiefly British).
a.
soprano: a descant recorder.
b.
treble: a descant viol.
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Descanting
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
verb (used without object)
4.
Music. to sing.
5.
to comment or discourse at great length.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To descanting
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
descant
late 14c., from Anglo-Fr. deschaunt, from M.L. discantus "refrain, part-song," from L. dis- "asunder, apart" + cantus "song." Spelling was partly Latinized 16c. Originally "counterpoint;" sense of "talk at length" is first attested 1640s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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