melody
/ˈmɛl.ə.di/ noun, proper noun
Forms melodies
- noun A sequence of notes that makes up a musical phrase. “Alyssa likes to sing melodies while playing the drums.”
- proper noun A female given name from English.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
tune air strain melodic line line melodic phrase tonal pattern
Etymology
From Middle English melodie, melodye, from Old French melodie, from Latin melodia, from Ancient Greek μελῳδίᾱ (melōidíā, “singing, chanting”), from μέλος (mélos, “musical phrase”) + ἀοιδή (aoidḗ, “song”), contracted form ᾠδή (ōidḗ).
From the noun melody; in regular use since the 20th century.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A sweet or agreeable succession of sounds.
- noun A rhythmical succession of single tones, ranging for the most part within a given key, and so related together as to form a musical whole, having the unity of what is technically called a musical thought, at once pleasing to the ear and characteristic in expression.
Etymology [OE. melodie, F. mélodie, L. melodia, fr. Gr. Ode.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “melody”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details