melisma

English

Alternative forms

• 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”).

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^[1], →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

• Czech: melisma
• Esperanto: melismo
• French: mélisme (fr)
• German: Melisma (de)
• Portuguese: melisma (pt) m
• Spanish: melisma (es)

References

• “melisma”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• lammies

Czech

Noun

melisma n

1. (music) melisma

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

• melismaticky
• melismatický
• melismatika

 

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

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /meˈliz.mɐ/

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

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɨˈliʒ.mɐ/

• 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

• “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