melisma
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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
Noun
melisma (countable and uncountable, plural melismas or melismata)
- (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.
- (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
a passage of several notes sung to one syllable of text
References
- “melisma”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams
Czech
Noun
melisma n
Declension
Declension of melisma (ma-stem neuter reducible)
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | melisma | melismata |
| genitive | melismatu | melismat |
| dative | melismatu | melismatům |
| accusative | melisma | melismata |
| vocative | melisma | melismata |
| locative | melismatu | melismatech |
| instrumental | melismatem | melismaty |
Derived terms
Further reading
- “melisma”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
- “melisma”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: me‧lis‧ma
Noun
melisma m (plural melismas)
Spanish
Noun
melisma m (plural melismas)
Further reading
- “melisma”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10