cantilena
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian or Latin cantilēna.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kæntɪˈleɪnə/
Noun
cantilena (plural cantilenas)
- (music) A vocal melody or instrumental passage in a smooth, lyrical style.
- 1964, Anthony Burgess, The Eve of St Venus:
- He played a lazy tune that sinuated from C sharp down to G natural and back again. Astonishing that he could flute so lazy a cantilena while chasing nymphs.
-
Anagrams
- lancinate
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kan.tiˈlɛ.na/
- Rhymes: -ɛna
- Hyphenation: can‧ti‧lè‧na
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Latin cantilēna.
Noun
cantilena f (plural cantilene)
- lullaby
- Synonym: filastrocca
- singsong
- whining, cant
Derived terms
- cantilenare
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
cantilena
- inflection of cantilenare:
- third-person singular present indicative
- second-person singular imperative
Anagrams
- cilentana, lanciante
Latin
Etymology
From *cantilō + -ēla, the attested cantilō, cantillō being back-formed.
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /kan.tiˈleː.na/, [kän̪t̪ɪˈɫ̪eːnä]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /kan.tiˈle.na/, [kän̪t̪iˈlɛːnä]
Noun
cantilēna f (genitive cantilēnae); first declension
- old song
- oft-repeated saying
- gossip
Declension
First-declension noun.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | cantilēna | cantilēnae |
| Genitive | cantilēnae | cantilēnārum |
| Dative | cantilēnae | cantilēnīs |
| Accusative | cantilēnam | cantilēnās |
| Ablative | cantilēnā | cantilēnīs |
| Vocative | cantilēna | cantilēnae |
Descendants
- English: cantilena
- Italian: cantilena
- Portuguese: cantilena
- Sicilian: cantilena
- Spanish: cantilena
- Swedish: cantilena
References
- “cantilena”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “cantilena”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- cantilena in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- cantilena in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
- Breyer, Gertrud (1993) Etruskisches Sprachgut im Lateinischen unter Ausschluß des spezifisch onomastischen Bereiches (Orientalia Analecta Lovaniensia; 53), Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters en Departement Oriëntalistiek, →ISBN, page 55
Portuguese
Noun
cantilena f (plural cantilenas)
- (Portugal) Synonym of parlenda
Spanish
Etymology
From Latin cantilēna.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kantiˈlena/ [kãn̪.t̪iˈle.na]
- Rhymes: -ena
- Syllabification: can‧ti‧le‧na
Noun
cantilena f (plural cantilenas)
- cantilena
Related terms
- cantinela
Further reading
- “cantilena”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014