canto
UK /ˈkæntəʊ/ · US /ˈkæntoʊ/ noun
Forms cantos
- noun One of the chief divisions of a long poem; a book.
- noun (music) The treble or leading melody.
- noun (music) The designated division of a song.
- noun (informal) The Cantonese language.
Etymology
From Italian canto (“song”). Doublet of chant.
Clipping of Cantonese.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One of the chief divisions of a long poem; a book.
- noun The highest vocal part; the air or melody in choral music; anciently the tenor, now the soprano. Canto fermo ( Etym: [It.]
Etymology [It. canto, fr. L. cantus singing, song. See Chant.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “canto”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details