| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| melisma |
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| SYLLABICATION: | me·lis·ma |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  m -l z m |
| NOUN: | Inflected forms: pl. me·lis·ma·ta (-m-t) or me·lis·mas
A passage of several notes sung to one syllable of text, as in Gregorian chant. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Greek, melody, from melizein, to sing, from melos, song. | | OTHER FORMS: | mel is·matic (m lz-m tk) —ADJECTIVE
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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