hocket
hocket noun: in medieval music, a rhythmic linear technique using the alternation of notes, pitches, or chords. A single melody is shared between two (or occasionally more) voices such that alternately one voice sounds while the other rests.
Noun
hocket (countable and uncountable, plural hockets)
- In medieval music, a rhythmic linear technique using the alternation of notes, pitches, or chords. A single melody is shared between two (or occasionally more) voices such that alternately one voice sounds while the other rests.
- Hocket is a contrapuntal technique described by the early fourteenth-century Walter Odington as "A truncation … made over the tenor … in such a way that one voice is always silent while the other sings."1977, Lloyd Ultan, Music theory: problems and practices in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, U of Minnesota Press, page 91
- A narrow passageway or opening between buildings, typically designed to facilitate access or movement between separate architectural structures.
- Any small gap or opening; often used to describe a narrow space that allows for movement or connection between two areas.
Forms of hocket
| plural | hockets |
|---|---|
| alternative form | hoquet |
Origin of hocket
From French hoquet (“hiccup”).
Words formed from hocket
Questions about hocket
- What does hocket mean?
- Hocket means in medieval music, a rhythmic linear technique using the alternation of notes, pitches, or chords. A single melody is shared between two (or occasionally more) voices such that alternately one voice sounds while the other rests.
- What part of speech is hocket?
- Hocket is a noun.
- What is the plural of hocket?
- The plural of hocket is hockets.
Words near hocket in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: hocket (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “hocket.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hocket. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
