melisma
UK/məˈlɪzmə/
melisma noun: a passage of several notes sung to one syllable of text.
Noun
melisma (countable and uncountable, plural melismas or melismata)
- A passage of several notes sung to one syllable of text.
- 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.1985, Anthony Burgess, Kingdom of the Wicked
- 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.2007, Michael Chabon, Gentlemen of the Road, Sceptre, published 2008, page 38
- The use of such passages.
- A subsequent generation of singers, including Ms. Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson and Beyoncé, built their careers around melisma.2010 December 24, David Browne, “Trilling Songbirds Clip Their Wings”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Forms of melisma
| plural | melismas |
|---|---|
| plural | melismata |
| alternative form | melism |
Origin of melisma
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”).
Words formed from melisma
Questions about melisma
- What does melisma mean?
- Melisma means a passage of several notes sung to one syllable of text.
- What part of speech is melisma?
- Melisma is a noun.
- How do you pronounce melisma?
- Melisma is pronounced /məˈlɪzmə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of melisma?
- The plural of melisma is melismas.
Words near melisma in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: melisma (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: “melisma.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/melisma. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.