melisma

English

Alternative forms

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).

Pronunciation

  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /məˈlɪzmə/

Noun

melisma (countable and uncountable, plural melismas or melismata)

  1. (music, countable) A passage of several notes sung to one syllable of text.
    • 1985, Anthony Burgess, Kingdom of the Wicked:
      A choir sang one of the Lamentations of Jeremiah. The mournful melisma accompanied the slow procession to the palace built by Herod the Great, at present untenanted.
    • 2007, Michael Chabon, Gentlemen of the Road, Sceptre, published 2008, page 38:
      At the top of the hill in the archway of the main house, an eyeless old man sat on a bucket, scratching at a two-stringed gourd, warbling weird melismas on a madman's text.
  2. (music, uncountable) The use of such passages.
    • 2010 December 24, David Browne, “Trilling Songbirds Clip Their Wings”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
      A subsequent generation of singers, including Ms. Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson and Beyoncé, built their careers around melisma.

Translations

References

Anagrams

Czech

Noun

melisma n

  1. (music) melisma

Declension

Derived terms

  • melismaticky
  • melismatický
  • melismatika

Further reading

  • melisma in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
  • melisma in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 
  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /meˈliz.mɐ/
    • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /meˈliʒ.mɐ/
    • (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /meˈliz.ma/

  • Hyphenation: me‧lis‧ma

Noun

melisma m (plural melismas)

  1. (music) melisma (a passage of several notes sung to one syllable of text)

Spanish

Noun

melisma m (plural melismas)

  1. melisma

Further reading

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