melisma

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A passage of several notes sung to one syllable of text.
  2. The use of such passages.

Pronunciation

/məˈlɪzmə/

Word forms

melisma melismas melismata melism

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μέλισμα (mélisma, “song”), from μελίζω (melízō, “(I) sing, modulate; (I) celebrate in song”), from μέλος (mélos, “song, tune, melody; limb, part; member”).

Derived words

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.