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mordent

 - 2 dictionary results

mor⋅dent

  [mawr-dnt]
Use mordent in a Sentence
–noun Music.
1. a melodic embellishment consisting of a rapid alternation of a principal tone with the tone a half or a whole step below it, called single or short when the auxiliary tone occurs once and double or long when this occurs twice or more.
2. inverted mordent.
Also, mordant.

Origin:
1800–10; < G < It mordente biting < L mordent-, s. of mordēns, prp. of mordēre to bite; see -ent
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To mordent
mor·dent   (môr'dnt, môr-děnt')   
n.  A melodic ornament in which a principal tone is rapidly alternated with the tone a half or full step below.

[German, from Italian mordente, from mordere, to bite, from Vulgar Latin *mordere, from Latin mordēre; see mer- in Indo-European roots.]
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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