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hemiola

[hem-ee-oh-luh]

noun Music.

a rhythmic pattern of syncopated beats with two beats in the time of three or three beats in the time of two.

Origin:
1590–1600; < Medieval Latin hēmiolia < Greek hēmiolía the ratio of one and a half to one, feminine of hēmiolíos half as large again, equivalent to hēmi- hemi- + (h)ól(os) whole + -ios adj. suffix

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Hemiola is always a great word to know.

So is minor. Does it mean:

note equivalent in duration to four quarter notes

interval smaller by a chromatic half step than the corresponding major interval

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Collins

World English Dictionary

hemiola or hemiolia (ˌhɛmɪˈəʊlə)

—n
	music Also called: sesquialtera a rhythmic device involving the superimposition of, for example, two notes in the time of three

[New Latin, from Greek hēmiolia ratio of one to one and a half, from hemi- + (h)olos whole]

hemiolia or hemiolia

—n

[New Latin, from Greek hēmiolia ratio of one to one and a half, from hemi- + (h)olos whole]

hemiolic or hemiolia

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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hemiola

hem·i·o·la