Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

melismata

[mi-liz-muh]

Origin

noun, plural -mas, -ma·ta

[-muh-tuh] . Music.

an ornamental phrase of several notes sung to one syllable of text, as in plainsong or blues singing.

Origin:
1605–15; < Greek mélisma song, tune. See melody, -ism

Related forms

mel·is·mat·ic

[mel-iz-mat-ik] , adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

|

Link To melismata

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Melismata is always a great word to know.

So is zedonk. Does it mean:

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

melisma

1880, from Gk. melisma "song, air, melody." Related: Melismatic.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

Word Dynamo By Dictionary.com

Searching for melismata? How many words do you actually know?

Quote Of The Day

"The basis of world peace is the teaching which runs through almost all the great religions of the world. "Love thy neighbor as thyself." Christ, some of the other great Jewish teachers, Buddha, all preached it. Their followers forgot it. What is the trouble between capital and labor, what is the trouble in many of our communities, but rather a universal forgetting that this teaching is one of our first obligations."

-Eleanor Roosevelt

Partners:Word Bloglines Citysearch The Daily Beast Ask Answers Ask Kids Life123 Sendori Thesaurus

Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.

About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help

Please Login or Sign Up to use the Favorites feature

Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature

How many words do you know? FIND OUT