harmonium

Borrowed from French harmonium, a term coined by French inventor Alexandre Debain in 1840.

coin

The only other man was a little grey-headed fellow with a pleasant face and quick, twinkling eyes, who sat at a harmonium in the corner.

1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Which Describes Some Strange Doings in Hammersmith”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

They were a grave and reverend seignior in a frock coat, a lady sitting at a portable harmonium, and a chinless youth toying with a crucifix.

1933 January 9, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Down and Out in Paris and London, London: Victor Gollancz […], →OCLC, page 244:

It [Troutbeck] has religious isolation also, for it is several miles—and very strenuous miles in winter—from the parish church at Mungrisdale, and the introduction of the harmonium to the waiting room was due to the zeal of a vicar of many years ago who, in the absence of any other room in the village, obtained permission to use the premises for services, including Sunday School. Most of his successors have continued this self-sacrificing duty.

1951 October, “Notes and News: The Harmonium at Troutbeck”, in Railway Magazine, page 709:

(music) A small keyboard instrument that consists of a series of reed pipes, which sound when one of the keys is pressed to open a valve that allows air to pass through.


metalhead

(informal) Someone who listens to (is a fan of) heavy metal music.


Marseillaise

The French national anthem, La Marseillaise, with at least seven verses plus the chorus.


slosh

en-verb

slosh (third-person singular simple present sloshes, present participle sloshing, simple past and past participle sloshed)

sloshes (present singular third-person)
sloshing (participle present)
sloshed (participle past)
sloshed (past)

The boy sloshed water over the edge of the bath.

(transitive, of a liquid) To cause to slosh.

His boots were so completely soaked that they sloshed when he walked.

(intransitive) To make a sloshing sound.


slosh

en-noun

slosh (countable and uncountable, plural sloshes)

Shoes and socks, soaked and frozen in the mud and icy slosh, did little to protect their feet.

2012, Cathy Gohlke, Promise Me This, page 299:


pipe organ

(music) The largest of all musical instruments, played from an organ console which produces its sound by sending air through whistles and/or reeds called organ pipes, by direct mechanical action, or modernly, electrically.


chaabi

From Arabic شَعْبِيّ (šaʕbiyy, “popular, folksy”).

bor

(music) A kind of Moroccan popular music.

(music) A traditional style of music of Algiers.


blip

Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1

When the blip began to move up the oscilloscope screen, they followed again.

1984 August, Frederick [McCarthy] Forsyth, The Fourth Protocol, London: Hutchinson, →ISBN:

At 6:45 pm, the chief officer saw a blip on the radar, approximately seven nautical miles away.

2004, Asaf Degani, “The Grounding of the Royal Majesty”, in Taming HAL: Designing Interfaces beyond 2001, New York, N.Y., Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, page 111:

(electronics) A small dot registered on electronic equipment, such as a radar or oscilloscope screen.

parpelleig

Blip..Blip..Blip..Blip / There was that annoying noise again. Anger entered my subconscious as the dream came to an abrupt end.

2000, Ken Norton, Marshall Terrill, Mike Fitzgerald, “Prologue”, in Going the Distance, Champaign, Ill.: Sports Publishing, →ISBN, page 2:

The most popular event is Joel's computer-based biofeedback game. […] The goal is to move the balloons skyward while avoiding the rockets that the computer shoots toward the balloons. You dodge the rockets by consciously adjusting your muscle tone between relaxation and tension. […] The little "blip" sound that happens when a balloon is shot down becomes a duet with the player. "Blip" "Damn!" "Blip" "Damn!" "Blip" "Damn!"

2007, Richard Strozzi-Heckler, In Search of the Warrior Spirit: Teaching Awareness Disciplines to the Green Berets, 4th edition, Berkeley, Calif.: Blue Snake Books, →ISBN, page 39:

A short sound of a single pitch, usually electronically generated.


blip

en-verb

blip (third-person singular simple present blips, present participle blipping, simple past and past participle blipped)

blips (present singular third-person)
blipping (participle present)
blipped (participle past)
blipped (past)

The door blipped as I showed my electronic identity card and passed through.

(intransitive) To make a short beep sound.

[…] even walking off his own show once after an NBC censor had arbitrarily blipped a mildly risque joke from the day's tape.

2003, Harry Castleman, Walter J. Podrazik, Watching TV: Six Decades of American Television, page 155:

(transitive) Synonym of bleep (“to replace offending words in a broadcast recording with a tone”)


plunk

plunk (third-person singular simple present plunks, present participle plunking, simple past and past participle plunked)

plunks (present singular third-person)
plunking (participle present)
plunked (participle past)
plunked (past)

Your bass teacher loathed you for loathing the instrument. Every lesson was the same: You would plunk out a few notes, and he would stop you. “Did you practice ?" “Some," you would say. “You have to practice." “I know." Practicing was the most boring thing you had ever done. Plunk plunk plunk (rest). Plunk plunk plunk (rest). That was pretty much how the double bass part went in every piece of music your teacher assigned you.

2011, Dave Eggers, Guillermo del Toro, The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2011, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 452:

(transitive, music) To pluck and quickly release (a musical string).


clarion

The noun is derived from Middle English clarion, clarioun (“trumpet with a narrow tube and a shrill sound, clarion; clarion player”) [and other forms], from Old French claron, clarïon (“clarion”) [and other forms], from Medieval Latin clāriōn, clario, clārōn (“clarion; trumpet”), from Latin clārus (“audible; clear, distinct, loud; (visually) bright, clear”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to call, summon; to cry”).
The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun.

nb...

clarionne, clarioune, claryon, claryoun, claryoune, claryounn, claryounne, claryowne

der

The clarion’s call to action has been heard.

Then ſtrait commands that at the warlike ſound / Of Trumpets loud and Clarions be upreard / His mighty Standard; […]

1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 531–533:

And like a silver clarion rung / The accents of that unknown tongue, / Excelsior!

1841 September 28, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “[Miscellaneous.] Excelsior.”, in Ballads and Other Poems, 2nd edition, Cambridge, Mass.: […] John Owen, published 1842, →OCLC, stanza 2, page 129:

There is no bard in all the choir, / Nor Homer's self, the poet sire, / […] / Nor Collins' verse of tender pain, / Nor Byron's clarion of disdain, / […] / Not one of all can put in verse, / Or to this presence could rehearse, / The sights and voices ravishing / The boy knew on the hills in spring, […]

1867, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “May-Day”, in May-Day and Other Pieces, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, pages 33–34:

Blind me, take away mine eyes, and let the darkness utterly fence me in, and still mine ears would catch the tone of thy unforgotten voice, striking more loud against the portals of my sense than can the call of brazen-throated clarions:– […]

1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, “Triumph”, in She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC, page 234:

(music, historical or poetic) A medieval brass instrument chiefly used as a battle signal; related to the trumpet, it had a narrow, straight pipe and a high-pitched, piercing sound.

եղջյուր

(music) An organ stop consisting of pipes with reeds giving a high-pitched note like that of a clarion (sense 1).


calcine

en-verb

calcine (third-person singular simple present calcines, present participle calcining, simple past and past participle calcined)

calcines (present singular third-person)
calcining (participle present)
calcined (participle past)
calcined (past)
calcine (infinitive)

The verb is derived from Late Middle English calcinen (“(alchemy, medicine) to heat (something) until it turns to powder; to change the nature of (something) by heating”) [and other forms], from Old French calciner (modern French calciner (“to calcinate; to calcine”)) and from its etymon Medieval Latin calcināre (“(alchemy) to burn like lime; to reduce to calx”), from Late Latin calcīna (“inorganic material containing calcium, lime”) + -āre (suffix forming present active infinitive forms of verbs). Calcīna is derived from Latin calcis, the genitive singular of calx (“chalk; limestone”), possibly from Ancient Greek χᾰ́λῐξ (khálix, “small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble”); further etymology unknown, possibly Pre-Greek.
The noun is derived from the verb.

nb...

calcene, calcenen, calciene, calcyne, calsinen

der

[A]s his death calcined thee to duſt, / His life may make thee gold, and much more juſt.

[1633], George Herbert, “Easter”, in [Nicholas Ferrar], editor, The Temple. Sacred Poems, and Private Ejaculations, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Thomas Buck and Roger Daniel; and are to be sold by Francis Green, […], →OCLC, page 33:

I vvould gladly knovv hovv Moſes vvith an actuall fire calcin'd or burnt the Golden Calfe unto povvder, for that myſticall metall of Gold, vvhoſe ſolary and celeſtiall nature I admire, expoſed unto the violence of fire, grovveth onely hot and liquifies, but conſumeth not: […]

1642, Tho[mas] Browne, “The First Part”, in Religio Medici. […], 4th edition, London: […] E. Cotes for Andrew Crook […], published 1656, →OCLC, section 50, page 108:

Fiery diſputes, that Union have calcin'd, / Almoſt as many minds as men vve find, / And vvhen that flame finds combuſtible Earth, / VVhence Fatuus fires and Meteors take their birth, / Legions of Sects, and Inſects come in throngs; / To name them all, vvould tire a hundred tongues.

1668, John Denham, “The Progress of Learning”, in Poems and Translations, with The Sophy, 4th edition, London: […] [John Macock] for H[enry] Herringman […], →OCLC, page 181:

It nothing skills: I cannot help my case: / The Judgment's fire alone can cure this place, / Calcine its clods and set my prisoners free.

1855, Robert Browning, “‘Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came.’”, in Men and Women […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, stanza 11, page 139:

[…] He fain had calcined all Northumbria / To one black ash, but that they patriot passion / Siding with our great Council against Tostig, / Out-passion'd his!

1877, Alfred Tennyson, Harold: A Drama, London: Henry S. King & Co., →OCLC, Act III, scene i, page 74:

To burn up (something) completely; to incinerate; hence, to destroy (something).


vuvuzela

From Zulu vuvuzela (“to make a vu vu noise”), from the /vuː/ sound the horns make.

When the Manchester United squad walked through the arrival gates at Durban International yesterday, most players heard a vuvuzela for the first time.

A trumpet-shaped horn, now usually plastic, that produces a loud buzzing sound.


Berlin green

en-noun

Berlin green (countable and uncountable, plural Berlin greens)

(organic chemistry) Ferric ferricyanide; a complex cyanide with a structure similar to that of Prussian blue, used as a green dye.

(art) A color of oil paint thought to resemble the color of the chemical.


borborigmus

borborigmus (countable and uncountable, plural borborigmi)

/bɔːbəˈɹɪɡməs/

From Ancient Greek βορβορυγμός (borborugmós).

1973: chilli 'n' trepidation were playing the devil with my small intestines and my borborigmus was often louder than the engine of the Rolls — Kyril Bonfiglioli, Don't Point That Thing at Me (Penguin 2001, p. 94)

A rumbling sound made by the movement of gas in the intestines.


molle

B molle

F molle

(music, obsolete) flat; lowered by a semitone


spoons

(music) A pair of spoons used as a musical instrument by tapping them on parts of the body.


spoons

"[…] You look very fit, Grannie, and Jerry says Aunt Mary is too young to be my aunt; I believe he is spoons on her already - what ho! my Uncle Jerry! Come and be introduced."

1922, Lydia Miller Middleton, The Happy Adventures:

[…] she will have grown older and wiser by that time; besides, I'm awful spoons on her—she is the sweetest little thing.

1876, The Young Ladies' Journal, page 548:

(slang, archaic) Foolishly infatuated with; having a romantic crush on (used with on).


melomania

From melo- + -mania, after French mélomanie.


red lead

A bright red, poisonous oxide of lead, Pb₃O₄, used as a pigment and in glass and ceramics.


urlar

Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic ùrlar (“floor”).

The opening theme of a piobaireachd is called the Urlar, or ‘ground’ – the territory on which the whole composition stands.

2012, Hannah Rosefield, “Piping Up”, in Literary Review, section 401:

(music) The base theme of a piece of classical bagpipe music.


prog rock

Its opening track, Mastermind, offers one possible answer to a theoretical question about what prog rock might have sounded like in the highly unlikely event that it had co-opted Giorgio Moroder’s brand of electronic disco: […]

2016 July 7, Alexis Petridis, “Roísín Murphy: Take Her Up to Monto review – still too strange for the bigtime”, in The Guardian:

progressive rock
progressive rock#English


phrasing

fraseeraus

the way the musical phrases are put together

I found myself truly moved by a stage event for the first time in years. I found myself humming tunes that one might not rightfully call tunes. Days later, I still remember these musical phrasings in little swatches of sound.

1977 August 13, Jim Marko, “Swados' Rare and Moving Nightclub Cantata”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 6, page 11:

(music) The way the musical phrases are put together in a composition or in its interpretation, with changes in tempo, volume, or emphasizing one or more instruments over others.


tramping

tramping (countable and uncountable, plural trampings)

Now we was in the lean-to, and heard trampings close by outside. So we crept to the door, and Tom stopped us there and put his eye to the crack, but couldn't make out nothing, it was so dark

1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC:

The act or sound of one who tramps, or walks heavily.


sight read

en-verb

sight read (third-person singular simple present sight reads, present participle sight reading, simple past and past participle sight read)

sight reads (present singular third-person)
sight reading (participle present)
sight read (participle past)
sight read (past)

From sight + read, in reference to not being able to rely on muscle memory developed through practice.

I can sight read really simple music, but hard pieces need a lot of practice so I don't have to stop and figure out what I'm doing.

(music) To perform a musical piece while reading it for the first time, without rehearsal.

lukea nuoteista

to perform a musical piece while reading it for the first time


tempered

From Middle English tempred, itempered, ytempred, ytemprid, from Old English ġetemprod (“tempered, moderate, goverened, cured”), past participle of Old English ġetemprian (“to temper, moderate, govern, cure”), equivalent to temper + -ed.

der

(music) Pertaining to the well-tempered scale, where the twelve notes per octave of the standard keyboard are tuned in such a way that it is possible to play music in any major or minor key and it will not sound perceptibly out of tune.


polyphonic

en-adj

polyphonic (comparative more polyphonic, superlative most polyphonic)

more polyphonic (comparative)
most polyphonic (superlative)

From Ancient Greek πολύφωνος (polúphōnos) + -ic. Equivalent to poly- + -phonic.

Coordinate term: monophonic

Near-synonym: contrapuntal

(music) Having two or more independent but harmonic melodies.

polifònic

having two or more melodies — see also contrapuntal


ragga

Clipping of raggamuffin, variant of ragamuffin (“troublemaker”), influenced by reggae.

Tosh's brand of roots reggae, with its emphasis on uplifting anthems and melodic riffs, now sounds as dated as The Wailers' earliest incarnation as a straight-up ska band, especially when listened to alongside the shuddering bass of most contemporary ragga tracks.

1993 August, David Eimer, “Reel to Reel”, in The Wire, number 114, →ISSN, page 52:

The song samples Ricky Martin's hit Shake Your Bom-Bom but adds ragga's roughness. When Bam Bam comes on, the crowd goes wild.

2001 September 15, Christopher John Farley, “Music Goes Global”, in Time, →ISSN:

A sub-genre of reggae, ragga is a modern Jamaican sound with ties to the oldest traditional music of that island-nation. The name is taken from the word “raggamuffin”, a term used for disenfranchised youth. One popular ragga singer called Half Pint said, “A lot of people interpret raggamuffin as if it [is]^([sic]) a criminal morality.”

2016, Linda Dailey Paulson, “Ragga”, in edited by Dave DiMartino, Music in the 20th Century, volume 1, Routledge, →ISBN, page 514:

Fling a ragga riddim like it's '03

2019, Wiley et al (lyrics and music), “Boasty”:

(music) A subgenre of reggae and dancehall influenced by hip hop and digital production techniques such as sampling.


brick wall

One of the first problems with the digital audio process is the use of brick wall filters with very steep slopes for anti-aliasing and anti-imaging purposes.

2005, Daniel M. Thompson, Understanding Audio, →ISBN:

To reconstruct the sampled signal, an ideal brick wall filter is demanded to remove the output of band signal.

2012, Steve Hung, Lung Tu, Analog Circuit Design for Communication SOC, →ISBN, page 184:

For example, a first order filter can be converted to a brick wall filter by multiplying by the brick wall factor 1.57.

2012, Art Kay, Operational Amplifier Noise, →ISBN:

(sound engineering) A type of anti-aliasing filter with a steep cutoff.


brick wall

en-verb

brick wall (third-person singular simple present brick walls, present participle brick walling, simple past and past participle brick walled)

brick walls (present singular third-person)
brick walling (participle present)
brick walled (participle past)
brick walled (past)

Audio recorded too quietly means that there is more opportunity for noise, even in today's digital workflow. Audio recorded too loud will distort in the analog world, and will simply "brick wall" in digital terms.

2005, Douglas Spotted Eagle, Instant Digital Audio, →ISBN, page 77:

(sound engineering) To filter using a brick wall filter.


embers

Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us / To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side

1994, Polly Samson, David Gilmour (lyrics and music), “High Hopes”, in The Division Bell, performed by Pink Floyd:

The smoldering or glowing remains of a fire, smoldering ash.

prush

the smoldering or glowing remains of a fire, smoldering ash


punkie

Possibly an alteration of pumpkin (“plant of the species Cucurbita pepo; round orange or yellow fruit of this plant; (archaic) any type of edible gourd”) + -ie (diminutive suffix).

(South West England, chiefly Somerset) In full punkie lantern: a lantern similar to a jack-o'-lantern consisting of a gourd such as a pumpkin or a root vegetable such as a mangelwurzel or swede which has been hollowed out, in which a candle has been placed; these are chiefly displayed during Punkie Night in late October.


altar bell

(Roman Catholicism) A bell rung at significant times during the Mass.


fireboat

A harbor boat designed for pumping large volumes of harbor water onto dockside fires.

Löschboot

1. A harbor boat designed for pumping large volumes of harbor water onto dockside fires


sheet music

Handwritten or printed form of musical notation.

musiekblad

hand-written or printed form of musical notation


fire marshal

(US, Philippines) A public official with police powers responsible for enforcing fire safety regulations, and sometimes, who also investigates suspicious fires.


buffo

Signor Bruschino was updated from a generic buffo character to an oily, scholarly-looking, suit-clad neurotic, excellently acted and sung by Marco Nistico.

2007 January 27, Vivien Schweitzer, “Young Lovers, a Vespa and a Frolic by Rossini”, in New York Times:

(music) A comic singer, particularly in comic opera


syngas

en-noun

syngas (countable and uncountable, plural syngases)

(petrochemistry) Synthesis gas or coal gas.


virginal

/ˈvɜː(ɹ)d͡ʒɪnəl/

From Middle English virginal, from Middle French virginal, from Latin virginālis. The musical instrument is probably so called from being played by young girls.

His uncle, a Cardinal, engages a Spanish youth of Moorish descent called Diego, an expert singer and player on the virginal, to unlock the secrets of the heart, and to cleanse his bosom of the perilous stuff, and cure him by the spell of his music.

1932, Maurice Baring, chapter 16, in Friday's Business:

(music) A musical instrument in the harpsichord family.


thermalize

en-verb

thermalize (third-person singular simple present thermalizes, present participle thermalizing, simple past and past participle thermalized)

thermalizes (present singular third-person)
thermalizing (participle present)
thermalized (participle past)
thermalized (past)

To lower the speed and kinetic energy of fast neutrons in a nuclear reactor by use of a moderator, and thus increase the efficiency of fission


synthesis gas

en-noun

synthesis gas (countable and uncountable, plural synthesis gases)

(petrochemistry) The gas obtained by heating coal and steam; coal gas.


fire station

The building where firefighters and fire trucks/fire engines are housed when not answering an alarm.


coal gas

(petrochemistry) The poisonous gas, used domestically for cooking etc and formerly for lighting, prepared by heating coal with steam (gasification); it is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide; sometimes synonymous with synthesis gas or town gas.


fagotto

fagotto (plural fagottos or fagottoes or fagotti)

fagottos (plural)
fagottoes (plural)
fagotti (plural)

From Italian fagotto. So called from being divided into parts for ease of carrying, making it a sort of small bundle or fagot. Doublet of fagot and faggot.


quadrille

French, in sense of “group of knights”, from Spanish cuadrilla, diminutive of cuadra (“square”) (compare also cuadra (“four”)), from Latin quadra.

There was ol' Mickey Coote
 Who played hard on his flute
 When the ladies lined up for a set
 He was tootin' with skill
 For each sparkling quadrille
 Though the dancers were fluther'd and bet

c. 19th century, J. M. Crofts (lyrics and music), “The Irish Rover”:


tipping

tipping (countable and uncountable, plural tippings)

(music) A distinct articulation given in playing quick notes on the flute, by striking the tongue against the roof of the mouth; double-tonguing.


noiseless

en-adj

noiseless (comparative more noiseless, superlative most noiseless)

more noiseless (comparative)
most noiseless (superlative)

The movements of the cat were noiseless as it approached the mousehole.

For by the hearth the children sit
Cold in that atmosphere of Death,
And scarce endure to draw the breath,
Or like to noiseless phantoms flit:
But open converse is there none, […]

1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XX, page 33:


clicking

Thus one pair of dolphins talking can sound like two pairs of dolphins talking, one pair exchanging clickings, the other pair exchanging whistles.

2001, Bobby Matherne, The Spizznet File: An Adventure in Interspecies Communication:


illuminating

illuminating (comparative more illuminating, superlative most illuminating)

more illuminating (comparative)
most illuminating (superlative)


scooping

en-noun

scooping (countable and uncountable, plural scoopings)

(music) A singing technique in which the singer begins by singing a note slightly below the desired pitch, and then slides up to it.


soundless

en-adj

soundless (comparative more soundless, superlative most soundless)

more soundless (comparative)
most soundless (superlative)

a soundless tableau

Cassius. […] for your words, they rob the Hybla bees,
And leave them honeyless.
Antony. Not stingless too.
Brutus. O yes, and soundless too;
For you have stol’n their buzzing, Antony,
And very wisely threat before you sting.

1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:

The Psalmist observes, That the Heavens declare the glory of God: And indeed, they celebrate his Praises, though with a soundless Voice, yet with so loud a one […] to our intellectual Ears, that he scruples not to affirm, that There is no Speech nor Language where their voice is not heard […]

1663, Robert Boyle, Some Considerations Touching the Usefulness of Experimental Naturall Philosophy, Oxford: Richard Davis, Essay 2, page 49:

The whole building, with its dark windows and soundless avenues, had an air strikingly forlorn and solitary.

1797, Ann Radcliffe, chapter 7, in The Italian, volume 2, London: T. Cadell Junior & W. Davies, page 225:

During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hang oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country […]

1839 September, Edgar Allan Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, in Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine, volume 5, page 145:

The names of men blow soundless by,
My fellows’ and my own.

1896, A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, London: Grant Richards, published 1898, XXXVIII, p. 55:

All day a woman across the room from me has been rolling up her pages scroll-like and smoothing them out as soundless tears cascade down her face.

1984 August 18, Pam Mitchell, “We Must Not Silence Our Lives”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 6, page 8:


clack

From Middle English clacken, clakken, claken, from Old English *clacian (“to slap, clap, clack”), from Proto-Germanic *klakōną (“to clap, chirp”). Cognate with Scots clake, claik (“to utter cries", also "to bedaub, sully with a sticky substance”), Dutch klakken (“to clack, crack”), Low German klakken (“to slap on, daub”), Norwegian klakke (“to clack, strike, knock”), Icelandic klaka (“to twitter, chatter, wrangle, dispute”).

cog

An abrupt, sharp sound, especially one made by two hard objects colliding repetitively; a sound midway between a click and a clunk.


clack

en-verb

clack (third-person singular simple present clacks, present participle clacking, simple past and past participle clacked)

clacks (present singular third-person)
clacking (participle present)
clacked (participle past)
clacked (past)

There is a generation of men, whose unweighed custome makes them clack out any thing their heedleſs fancy ſprings

1623, Owen Feltham, Resolves: Divine, Moral, Political:

The women bunched up in little droves and let their tongues clack, and the men herded together and passed a jug around and, to tell the truth, let their tongues clack too.

1953, Janice Holt Giles, The Kentuckians:

To chatter or babble; to utter rapidly without consideration.

Only the chickens clacked at the Saturday quiet and fat mouse-minded cats licked whiskers on the empty steps.

1934, Gladys Bagg Taber, Late Climbs the Sun, page 30:

We drive on between meadows of mown grass, through a pergola of vines, and so to an orchard of peaches, apples, and pears and a hen colony housed in neat modern cottages, the chickens clacking and scratching away […]

1964, Frances Margaret Cheadle McGuire, Gardens of Italy, page 57:


stop list

The history of the small organ is poorly documented; the earliest known stop list, written by the Lübeck organ builder Theodore Vogt, dates from about 1845.

1987, Kerala J. Snyder, Dieterich Buxtehude: Organist in Lübeck, page 81:

(music) A list of the stops found on a particular organ.


country pop

(music) A subgenre of country music that combines it with elements of pop music, produced and marketed to reach a wide audience; or a specific genre of country pop, especially the Nashville sound.


lapping

en-noun

lapping (countable and uncountable, plural lappings)

From Middle English lapping, lappyng, lappinge, equivalent to lap + -ing.

(lutherie) Lengths of fine silk, metal wire, or whalebone wrapped tightly around the stick of the bow of a string instrument adjacent to the leather part of the bow grip at the heel.


scraping

From Middle English scrapinge, equivalent to scrape + -ing.

We explored the basement, wherein she had so often heard heavy footsteps, thuddings, and scrapings.

2003, Brad Steiger, Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places, page 30:

The sound or action of something being scraped.


Nashville sound

(music) A subgenre of country music that became popular in the 1950s and 1960s, containing elements of popular music and characterized by electronic string sections, background vocals, and orchestras.


Bakersfield sound

Developed in and around Bakersfield, California, during the 1950s.

A subgenre of country music, the Bakersfield Sound emerged out of what Merle Haggard called “the redneck honky-tonks” and what Glen Campbell termed “the fightin' and dancin' clubs” in Bakersfield, California.

2023, Thomas M. Kitts, Keep on Believin', Penn State Press, →ISBN, page 105:

A subgenre of country music developed in the West Coast and popularized during the 1950s and 1960s, featuring Fender Telecaster guitars, a drum backbeat, fiddles and steel guitars, along with stylistic touches from rock and roll music.


Urban Cowboy

The term is borrowed from the title of a popular 1980 movie starring John Travolta and Debra Winger and featuring several country music performances.

(music, uncountable) Pop-styled country music which became popular during the early 1980s, following the release of the movie Urban Cowboy (1980).


rockabilly

rockabilly (countable and uncountable, plural rockabillies or rockabillys)

rockabillies (plural)
rockabillys (plural)

/ˈɹɒkəˌbɪli/

/ˈɹɑːkəˌbɪli/

(uncountable, music) A genre of music originating from the South (United States) and mixing elements of rock, blues, country, hillbilly boogie and bluegrass music.


fingering

fingering (countable and uncountable, plural fingerings)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-fingering.wav

She has a very good notion of fingering, though her taste is not equal to Anne's.

(music, uncountable) The act of using one's fingers in the playing of a musical instrument.

That chord has two fingerings.

(music, countable) A specific method of using the fingers to play an instrument.


outlaw country

Often said to be derived from the Waylon Jennings song "Ladies Love Outlaws." The outlaw country genre was created as a response to the then-prevalent Nashville sound and growing popularity of country pop.

A subgenre of country music that became popular during the 1970s, fusing older styles (such as honky-tonk) with newer styles including rock and blues. Artists involved wrote their own material, demanded creative control of their music, and adopted an "outlaw" image.


vair

vair (countable and uncountable, plural vairs)

From Middle English veir, veire, from Old French vair, veir, from the accusative singular masculine form of Latin varius (“variegated”).

(heraldry) An heraldic fur formed by a regular tessellation of bell shapes in two colours, (for example in the image, blue and white).


box set

Related musical or video recordings that are gathered on multiple items of the same kind of media (compact discs, DVDs, VHS tapes, etc.) and placed in a box to be sold as a unit.


timber wolf

timber wolf (countable and uncountable, plural timber wolves)


CMB

CMB (countable and uncountable, plural CMBs)

Cosmic microwave background
cosmic microwave background#English

(uncountable, initialism) Cosmic microwave background.


kagok

A genre of Korean vocal music for mixed female and male voices. Accompaniments and interludes are played by a small ensemble of traditional Korean musical instruments


warhorse

a Wagner warhorse

I remember taking the old warhorse, “Una Voce Poco Fa,” from Il Barbiere (Rossini) to three of the greatest living singing masters in Italy.

1910, Millie Ryan, What Every Singer Should Know, Omaha, Nebr.: Franklin Publishing Co.:

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo[…] presented a typical program of Russian warhorses of the 19th and early 20th centuries[…]

1997 August 6, Jennifer Dunning, “Horsing Around With Balletic Warhorses”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

A Mendelssohn Warhorse Gets the Perlman Treatment [title]

1995 August 5, Anthony Tommasini, “A Mendelssohn Warhorse Gets the Perlman Treatment”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

[…] the ROH mounts a new production of an Italian repertory warhorse that is fully on the level of the one it replaces […

2006 June 11, Stephen Jay-Taylor, “Tosca dress”, in rec.music.opera (Usenet):

(theater, music) A regularly revived theatrical or musical work, as with Hamlet or a Beethoven symphony, or as excerpts thereto. May imply that the work in question has become hackneyed.


drum machine

/ˈdɹʌm məˌʃiːn/

(music) An electronic musical instrument that can be programmed to create percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns.


serial music

(music) Music, especially from the 20th century, in which the themes are based on a definite order of notes of an equal-tempered scale.


country and western

(music) A diverse field of American popular music that grew out of hillbilly music and features elements from rural peoples across the Southern and Western United States.


Western swing

A 1930s to 1940s style of U.S. Southwestern country music with a jazz influence, meshing string bands with other instrumentation - especially drums, trumpet, piano, electric guitar and the steel guitar.


close harmony

A style of music where the chords are arranged within a narrow range, and the vocal styles of two or more singers either complement or are similar to each other.


neotraditional country

A subgenre of country music popularized starting in the early- to mid-1980s, emphasizing traditional country sounds rather than popular music sounds. Produced in direct response to the growing influence of country pop music.


singing cowboy

singing cowboy (countable and uncountable, plural singing cowboys)

(music) A subgenre of country music and western music honoring the cowboy life and the West.


alternative country

A kind of indie country music meshing traditional forms of country music with diverse musical styles like folk, pop, punk and heavy metal.

country alternative

subgenre of country music influenced by other musical styles


country music

A shortening of country and western. This version has been predominant since the 1950s.

He's a handsome country singer who plays the guitar with his beautiful girlfriend who plays the drums!

(music) A style of popular music that originated in the folk music of the rural population of the southern and western United States and characterized by string-band instruments and simple melodies.

old-time country

considered either coordinate or hyponymous


countrypolitan

A subgenre of country music, a development of the Nashville sound, produced in the late 1960s and early 1970s, containing elements of popular music, including string sections and background vocals.


sulfur yellow

sulfur yellow:

A yellow colour similar to that of the element sulfur.

kénsárga

a yellow colour similar to that of the element sulfur


inky

en-adj

inky (comparative inkier, superlative inkiest)

inkier (comparative)
inkiest (superlative)

The gloved and jewelled bards who sing / Of Pippa, Maud, and Guinevere, / Have hardly done the 'handsome thing' / For you, my inky Cytherea.

1877, Henry Kendall, “Ode to a Black Gin”, in The Australian Town and Country Journal, page 24:

(obsolete, literary) Dark-skinned; black.


guest star

The neutering extends to Believe’s guest stars, with warm-and-fuzzy verses from Ludacris (“I love everything about you / You’re imperfectly perfect”), Big Sean (“I don’t know if this makes sense, but you’re my hallelujah”), Nicki Minaj (who at least squeaks a “bitches” into her verse), and especially Drake, whose desire to hug and kiss the object of his affection on “Right Here” is reminiscent of The Red Hot Chili Peppers on Krusty’s Comeback Special.

2012 June 26, Genevieve Koski, “Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2020-08-06:

(music) A guest on a music or other recording.


peak oil

Or more worrying, that after many years of false alarms, the world is truly beginning to run out of oil? That last question is at the center of a fierce debate. Adherents of the “peak oil” theory warn of a permanent oil shortage.

2004 April 4, Daniel Yergin, “Imagining a $7-a-Gallon Future”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Another consequence of reaching "peak oil" is the debate it will surely provoke in the United States over whether we should avert the coming crisis by drilling in pristine lands and waters long considered off limits or by engaging in conservation and development of alternative fuel sources.

2005 September 4, Carrie Abels Brattleboro, “The Breaking Point”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

In this view the 21st-century poison is peak oil theory, the idea that the world has reached its maximum oil production or soon will, and that we are entering a period when escalating energy costs will make the suburban lifestyle untenable.

2005 March 13, Natalie Canavor, “Running on Empty”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

By the time the last guitar duo performed “Here Comes the Sun,” everyone in the room was so keyed up — so ready to turn the impending dark age of peak oil and climate change into a renaissance — that no one heard the slightest menace in the line “Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting.”

2009 April 16, Jon Mooallem, “The End Is Near! (Yay!)”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Peak oil hasn't happened, and it's unlikely to happen for a very long time.

2012 July 2, George Monbiot, “We were wrong on peak oil. There's enough to fry us all”, in The Guardian:

What follows from this is that the idea of peak oil has gone up in flames. We do not have too little fossil fuel, we have far too much.

2012 November 12, Damian Carrington, “IEA report reminds us peak oil idea has gone up in flames”, in the Guardian:


big beat

(music) A form of pop music having distorted breakbeats at a moderate tempo.


breakbeat

A cornucopia of hyped-up breakbeats, keyboard squiggles, surf grooves, dancehall stylee, dumb loops and much atonal shouting along, Far In dares you not to smile.

(music, countable) A form of syncopated rhythm prominent in much African music.

electronic dance music
electronic dance music

(music, uncountable) A genre of electronic dance music based on such syncopated rhythms.


da capo al fine

From Italian da capo al fine (literally “from the beginning to the end”).

bor

(music) Repeat from the beginning up to the word fine ("end").


mache

From German Mache, surname of Heinrich Mache.

(dated) A former unit of volumic radioactivity: the quantity of radon (ignoring its daughters) per litre of air which ionizes a sustained current of 0.001 esu.


rock band

(music) A group of musicians who play rock music.


rock music

Shortening of rock and roll music, in use since circa 1966 to refer to genres of popular music which had grown sufficiently distinct from 1950s rock and roll.

(music) A broad genre of popular music, including especially those styles ultimately derived from rock and roll, employing electrical amplification, heavy use of guitars, 4/4 time with strong percussive rhythm on beats two and four (backbeat), and usually themes of bold wildness, rebellion, and sexuality.


grimy

en-adj

grimy (comparative grimier, superlative grimiest)

grimier (comparative)
grimiest (superlative)

Riffs from older songs seem to be more popular, as only two from the past decade made it into the top 20. They were Muse's Plug In Baby, at 11, and The White Stripes' grimy Seven Nation Army at 15.

2009 November 27, “Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child has 'best guitar riff'”, in BBC:

(music) From the urban musical genre called grime.


chack

en-verb

chack (third-person singular simple present chacks, present participle chacking, simple past and past participle chacked)

chacks (present singular third-person)
chacking (participle present)
chacked (participle past)
chacked (past)

From Michael Chack, an American figure skater whose bronze-medal-winning performance at the 1993 US National Championships was not broadcast on televsion because the producers did not think he would win a medal.

Michael Chack pulled WAY up in the standings in his long [skate event]...but was chacked while we saw five guys skate worse!!

1998, Louis Epstein, “US National Men's Final RESULTS”, in rec.sport.skating.ice.figure (Usenet):

I'm hoping ABC doesn't chack her performance...how could they??

2002, Jonas, International Skating Union Discussion Boards: Figure Skating: Yukari Nakano, the reigning world jr silver medalist, landed a triple axel:

Did they chack Kostner's skate because of the fluff piece on the Russian pairs or not? I kind of like her and wanted to see her.

2004, Rex, “The Rest of Skate Canada: Phaneuf Rocks! The First Time I saw the Two Canadian Pairs Skate!”, in rec.sport.skating.ice.figure (Usenet):

(ice-skating, transitive) To not broadcast a medal-winning or otherwise memorable or crucial figure skating performance. This only occurs in a live broadcast because the network has to decide which programs to show and which to cut in the interest of time. If a skater is low in the rankings and several big names are set to skate later, that performance may be cut.


sounding board

A thin board that forms part of the resonating chamber of a musical instrument and serves to reinforce its sound.

резонатор

A structure that reflects sound towards the intended listeners. Abatsons.

tornaveu

Missandei had little interiority beyond being Dany’s sounding board and Grey Worm’s lover, and she had to die to give them both a reason to keep killing, even though you’d think the looming Last War is reason enough.

2019 May 5, Danette Chavez, “Campaigns are Waged On and Off the Game Of Thrones Battlefield (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2021-01-28:

(by extension) Any device or means used to spread an idea or point of view.

A person, or group, whose reactions to a new idea or proposal serve to assess its acceptability.

kaikupohja

person or group serving to assess acceptability of a new idea


hyperrealism

en-noun

hyperrealism (countable and uncountable, plural hyperrealisms)

(music) A compositional style defined by Noah Creshevsky as "an electroacoustic musical language constructed from sounds that are found in our shared environment (realism), handled in ways that are somehow exaggerated or excessive (hyper)."


solar energy

The Energy Research Institute under the Industrial Technological Research Institute has decided to build the nation’s first solar energy plant at Chutung Township in Hsinchu county.

1981 December 6, “Imports planned to meet energy needs”, in 自由中國週報 [Free China Weekly], volume XXII, number 48, Taipei, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 4:

Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: the ability to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy.

2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist:

electromagnetic radiation
electromagnetic radiation

Energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation emitted from the Sun; especially that part of this energy that is converted into usable thermal or electrical energy by man.

solar power

broadly synonymous despite precise differentiability of energy from power (energy per time unit)

water power

broadly coordinate despite precise differentiability of energy from power (energy per time unit)


photoaging

The damaging effect of prolonged exposure to sunlight on the skin, especially wrinkling, discoloration and susceptibility to cancer


sultana

1580s, Italian sultana (feminine of sultano). Displaced existing sultaness.

bor

feminine of <i class="Latn mention" lang="it">sultano</i>


photocatalyst

(chemistry) A substance that absorbs light and, in doing so, catalyzes a reaction.

photocatalyseur

substance that absorbs light and catalyzes a reaction


photocatalysis

(chemistry) catalysis by a photocatalyst

photocatalyse

Chemistry: Catalysis by a photocatalyst.


self-immolation

en-noun

self-immolation (countable and uncountable, plural self-immolations)

The act of self-immolation
The sweeping wave of self-immolation began in 2009 in the aftermath of the 2008 nationwide uprisings against China. Since then, Tibet has witnessed at least 152 self-immolations. Of these self-immolators,¹ 126 were men and 26 women. The burning flame has consumed 130 lives. Nearly a third of the Tibetans who resorted to self-immolation protest were monks and nuns.² The rest were laypeople from different regions and from all walks of life: students, farmers, teachers, young parents, grandparents and mothers of several children.

2018, Central Tibetan Administration, Tibet was Never a Part of China: but the Middle Way Approach Remains a Viable Solution, New Delhi: Norbu Graphics, →ISBN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-10-08, pages 6–7:

The act of setting oneself on fire, especially as a form of protest.


crickets

Sense 2 is derived from the cinematic metaphor of chirping crickets at night, signaling (otherwise) complete quiet.

to hear crickets

Since then, I've received no response. Not a word. Just… crickets.

We asked for an explanation, but all we got was crickets.

"We have one exclusive one block from Bee on Fifth and Seventy-third. Prewar. White-glove. Top-notch." His Queen's English posh London accent made it sound extra-fabulous. […] / "Do you maybe have any listings that are less? Like ... four million less?" I asked, semi-blushing. / "Four million or less? Sure!" / "No, no, no," I said. "Not four million or less. Four million less than five point three million, i.e., something in the one-to-one-and-a-half range." / "Oh." / Crickets.

2007, Jill Kargman, Momzillas, New York, N.Y.: Broadway Books, →ISBN:

Maria Chapelle-Nadal, a Democratic state senator, said she feared that the commission's findings would be announced with great fanfare, "but then we're just going to hear crickets, crickets, crickets."

2015 September 14, Monica Davey, “Panel studying racial divide in Missouri presents a blunt picture of inequity [print version: 'Report blunt on race inequity', International New York Times, 15 September 2015, page 7]”, in The New York Times:

Stopping a group of teenage boys at a museum [in Bangladesh] devoted to the 1971 war, I asked them which American leaders had played an important role in the conflict. Henry A. Kissinger? They looked at me with blank faces. Richard M. Nixon? Crickets.

2016 June 27, Ellen Barry, “To U.S. in ’70s, a dissenting diplomat. To Bangladesh, ‘a true friend.’ [print version: 'A dissenter remembered: Diplomat pushed U.S. to condemn Pakistan’s 1971 assault on Dhaka', International New York Times, 29 June 2016, page 2]”, in The New York Times:

(often singular, US, Canada, figurative, slang, humorous) Used alone or in metaphorically descriptive phrases: absolute silence where meaningful sound is expected; lack of response; no communication.


clarino

From Italian clarino (“straight trumpet”).


songer

Perhaps dialectally inherited from Middle English songere, from Old English sangere, from Proto-Germanic *sangwārijaz (“singer”), whence German Sänger, Dutch zanger etc. Equivalent to song + -er. Alternatively newly formed from these components.

If a man who plays at ping pong is a "ponger," Then a singer of a "singsong" is a "songer"; If the "songer" is a singer. Then the "ponger" is a "pinger," And the man who says it's wrong must be a "wronger."

Will he sing it, I wonder?"
"Chantoozie, I ain't much of a songer any more. I just done that because I was told it was a colorful trait."

1976, Katie Lee, Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle:

No sound of songers chirping or jumbies, foraging for nuts.

2012, Susan St. Francis, A Tale of the Bug Fairies:

(rare, nonstandard, sometimes humorous) A singer (of songs); a songster.


photochemical smog

photochemical smog (countable and uncountable, plural photochemical smogs)

photochemical reaction
photochemical reaction

Air pollution caused by photochemical reactions involving hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and other pollutants, especially in still air over cities.


photochromism

photochromism (countable and uncountable, plural photochromisms)

The reversible transformation of the optical properties of a material when exposed to electromagnetic radiation, especially the reversible darkening of a plastic lens when exposed to sunlight.

fótacrómachas

the reversible transformation of the optical properties of a material when exposed to electromagnetic radiation


photochromic

en-adj

photochromic (comparative more photochromic, superlative most photochromic)

more photochromic (comparative)
most photochromic (superlative)

Of, related to, or produced by photochromism

Relating to the part of a molecule responsible for its photochromism


photochemistry

en-noun

photochemistry (usually uncountable, plural photochemistries)

(chemistry) The study of photochemical reactions.


photochemical reaction

photochemical reaction (plural photochemical reactions)

(chemistry) Any chemical reaction initiated by the absorption of electromagnetic radiation to form an excited state


xenon flash lamp

xenon flash lamp (plural xenon flash lamps)

A lamp that produces a very short, but very intense, flash of white light; used in photography and in photocoagulation

xenon villanólámpa

a lamp that produces a short, intense flash of light


tre corde

Borrowed from Italian tre corde (“three strings”).

bor+

(music) Musical notation indicating that the player release the soft pedal of the piano. In many pianos, this results in the hammer striking three string rather than one as in una corda.


photochemical

(chemistry) Of, relating to, or produced by photochemistry or by photochemical reactions


acid jazz

Humorously coined by DJ Gilles Peterson after blending jazz records with acid house in 1988.

(music, jazz) A genre of popular music combining jazz with elements of soul music, funk and disco.


microtone

(music) Any interval smaller than a semitone


photodecomposition

en-noun

photodecomposition (countable and uncountable, plural photodecompositions)

(chemistry) Any photochemical reaction that results in the decomposition of a substance


microtonal

en-adj

microtonal (comparative more microtonal, superlative most microtonal)

more microtonal (comparative)
most microtonal (superlative)

(music) Of, relating to, or written using microtones.


capriccioso

From Italian capriccioso. Cognate with capricious.


photodissociation

en-noun

photodissociation (countable and uncountable, plural photodissociations)

(chemistry) The dissociation of a molecule following the absorption of a photon


sforzando

sforzando (plural sforzandos or sforzandi)

(music) A mark that indicates that a note is to be played with a strong initial attack.


sforzando

en-adv

sforzando (comparative more sforzando, superlative most sforzando)

more sforzando (comparative)
most sforzando (superlative)


sforzando

(music) Describing a passage having this mark.


sackbut

From French sacqueboute, from Middle French sacquer (“to push”) + bouter (“to pull”).

(music) A brass instrument from the Renaissance and Baroque Eras, and an ancestor of the modern trombone. It was derived from the medieval slide trumpet.

Sackbut in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)


una corda

(music) In piano music, the notation indicating that the player depresses the soft pedal, altering, and reducing the volume of the sound. In many pianos, this results in the hammer striking two strings rather than three as in tre corde. Originally, it would have struck one string, but modern pianos have their strings too close together to achieve a true una corda - the movement of the hammers would result in also hitting the first string of the next note.


brass instrument

en-noun

brass instrument (plural brass instruments)

Any musical instrument whose tone is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a mouthpiece (or tubular resonator).


sostenuto

(music) played in a sustained manner beyond the note's normal value


comodo

Borrowed from Italian comodo. Doublet of commode.

(music) Comfortable, that is, at moderate speed.


photolytic

en-adj

photolytic (comparative more photolytic, superlative most photolytic)

more photolytic (comparative)
most photolytic (superlative)


photolyase

en-noun

photolyase (countable and uncountable, plural photolyases)

(biochemistry) An enzyme that repairs DNA that has been damaged by light.

fótaláis

an enzyme that repairs DNA that has been damaged by light


photoluminescence

photoluminescence (countable and uncountable, plural photoluminescences)

(physics) luminescence following the absorption of a photon.


photolysis

From Ancient Greek φωτ- (phōt-), root of φῶς (phôs, “light”) + λύσις (lúsis, “decomposition”). By surface analysis, photo- + -lysis.

(chemistry) Any chemical reaction in which a compound is decomposed after absorbing a photon


piffero

(music) A particular organ stop of 2' or 4' pitch imitative of the transverse flute.


duduk

A recent borrowing, from Armenian դուդուկ (duduk), itself from Ottoman Turkish دودوك (düdük).

(music) An Armenian woodwind instrument.


moonwalk

From Moon + walk.
* (backslide): Coined by Michael Jackson in 1983, when popularizing the backslide and renaming it.

An exploration of the Moon's surface on foot by an astronaut.

(dance) A dance move in which the dancer slides backwards though the feet move as if walking forwards; the backslide.

Though the idea of placing wacky made-up characters in a real-life context was carried over from Da Ali G Show—wherein Buzz Aldrin was once asked if he was upset that Michael Jackson got all the credit for inventing the moonwalk—Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat felt like something new, an attempt to square an improvised, guerrilla style of underground comedy with reality-TV stunt shows like Jackass or Fear Factor.

2012 May 15, Scott Tobias, “Film: Reviews: The Dictator”, in The Onion AV Club:

(dance) A dance style in which the dancer appears to be moving in a low gravity environment.


moonwalk

en-verb

moonwalk (third-person singular simple present moonwalks, present participle moonwalking, simple past and past participle moonwalked)

moonwalks (present singular third-person)
moonwalking (participle present)
moonwalked (participle past)
moonwalked (past)

(intransitive) To walk on the surface of the Moon.

(intransitive) To walk in leaps, like on the Moon or on other low gravity surfaces.

Alicent’s crew intercede and try to grab the prince for themselves, Aemond restraining his fleeing brother while Criston crosses swords with Cargyll 1. That’s when Cargyll 2 moonwalks away, realizing that he wants no part of this royal shitshow.

2022 October 16, Jenna Scherer, “An enticing House Of The Dragon crowns Westeros' new ruler”, in AV Club:

(intransitive) To walk in a manner that is similar to the moonwalk dance style; to move while sliding backwards as though the feet move as if one was walking forwards.


gliss

gliss (third-person singular simple present glisses, present participle glissing, simple past and past participle glissed)

glisses (present singular third-person)
glissing (participle present)
glissed (participle past)
glissed (past)

Then he played the opening notes of “On Green Dolphin Street,” glissed down from B flat to sixth-position F, secured the slide lock, and set the trombone on its stand.

2013, J. F. Freedman, Key Witness, Open Road Media, →ISBN:


batterie

Borrowed from French batterie, from battre (“to hit”). Doublet of battery.

(music) The percussion section of an orchestra or band, the battery; marching instruments in a drumline, as opposed to the pit.


fluorescence

en-noun

fluorescence (countable and uncountable, plural fluorescences)

Coined 1852 by physicist George Stokes from fluorspar + -escence.
Morphologically fluoresce + -ence.

(physics) The emission of light (or other electromagnetic radiation) by a material when stimulated by the absorption of radiation or of a subatomic particle.


sibilation

sibilation (countable and uncountable, plural sibilations)

Latin sibilatio, from sībilāre (“to hiss”), present active infinitive of sībilō.

From the shadows emanated a hushed sibilation.

The exact labial sibilation denoted by f, and the soft sibilation z are unknown in Sanskrit.

1962, Sir Monier Monier-Williams, A practical grammar of the Sanskrit language, page 18:


claves

claves pl (normally plural, singular clave)

Borrowed from Latin American Spanish claves (plural), from Latin clāvis (“a key; a lever, bar”).

(music) A percussion instrument, consisting of two sticks or blocks, in which one is struck against the other in order to produce a sound.


pistachio

pistachio (plural pistachios or pistachioes)

pistachios (plural)
pistachioes (plural)

→ Japanese: ピスタチオ (pisutachio)

→ Korean: 피스타치오 (piseutachio)

→ Malay: pistacio, pistasio

→ Thai: พิสตาชีโอ (pís-dtaa-chí-ôo)

→ Welsh: pistasio

From Italian pistacchio (1590s), from Latin pistācium (“pistachio”), from Ancient Greek πιστάκιον (pistákion), from πιστάκη (pistákē, “pistachio tree”). Of Iranian origin. Compare Northern Kurdish pisteq, Persian پسته (peste), Middle Persian pstk' (pistag, “pistachio nut”), Old Armenian պիստակ (pistak) (from Iranian), Arabic فُسْتُق (fustuq), Turkish fıstık.

cog

pistachio:

A pale green colour, like that of a pistachio seed.


Bermuda green

en-noun

Bermuda green (countable and uncountable, plural Bermuda greens)

Bermuda green:

(golf, countable) A green whose surface consists of Bermuda grass.


Bermuda green

en-adj

Bermuda green (comparative more Bermuda green, superlative most Bermuda green)

more Bermuda green (comparative)
most Bermuda green (superlative)


buttery

From Middle English boterie, from Old French boterie and Medieval Latin buteria, from Late Latin botāria, from a variant form of butta (“cask, bottle”). The form was probably influenced by butter.

(UK) A room in a university where snacks are sold.


harpist

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-harpist.wav

Someone who plays a harp, especially a pedal harp.


harper

From Middle English harpere, from Old English hearpere (“harpist, harper”), equivalent to harp + -er. Cognate with Middle Low German harpære (“harper”), German Harfer and Harfner (“harper”).

inh

The Harpe. […]
 A harper with his wreſt maye tune the harpe wrong
 Mys tunying of an Inſtrument ſhal hurt a true ſonge

1568, William Cornishe [i.e., William Cornysh], “In the Fleete Made by Me William Cornishe otherwise Called Nyshwhete Chapelman with the Most Famose and Noble Kyng Henry the VII. His Reygne the XIX. Yere the Moneth of July. A Treatise betwene Trouth, and Information.”, in John Skelton, edited by J[ohn] S[tow], Pithy Pleasaunt and Profitable Workes of Maister Skelton, Poete Laureate, Imprinted at London: In Fletestreate, neare vnto St Dunstan-in-the-West by Thomas Marshe, →OCLC; republished as Pithy Pleasaunt and Profitable Workes of Maister Skelton, Poete Laureate to King Henry the VIIIth, London: Printed for C. Davis in Pater-noster Row, 1736, →OCLC, page 290:

A harpist, especially one who plays a traditional harp without pedals.


dark space

any of several regions in a glow discharge in which little or no light is produced


saltando

Mark the following excerpt to be played saltando.

1968, Richard D. Worthing, The Development and Preliminary Evaluation of a Programmed Course of Instruction in Orchestration for the Stringed Instruments, page 111:

(music) Played with a rapid, bouncing stroke of the bow on a stringed instrument.


space reddening

en-noun

space reddening (plural space reddenings)

(astronomy, astrophysics) The reddening of the light from distant stars because of selective absorption and scattering by interstellar dust


space power system

space power system (plural space power systems)

Any assemblage of equipment used to generate, store and distribute electrical power on board a satellite or spacecraft


space velocity

space velocity (plural space velocities)

(astronomy) The velocity of a star relative to the Sun


VG

(numismatics, bookselling, music, slang) Initialism of very good (condition).


electroclash

Electroclash began as an esoteric offshoot of techno, revisiting some of the genre's original sonic touchstones: Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, New Order, Afrika Bambaataa and New York disco.

2002 March 22, Dorian Lynskey, “Out with the old, in with the older”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Oft-derided, even in its 2002 heyday, no one expected electroclash to last. But, just as sonic heirs such as La Roux or Little Boots capitalise on their groundwork, the old electro guard return with works of real solidity and depth.

2009 April 24, Tony Naylor, “Emerging victorious”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

A music style from the late 1990s fusing dance music, punk and electronic.


fire door

There are 10,000 fire doors on the Elizabeth Line, including these two at Liverpool Street that have been tested to tolerate a two-hour blaze at temperatures as high as 3,000°C.

2022 March 23, Paul Bigland, “We're counting down the days”, in RAIL, number 953, page 39, photo caption:

A fireproof door designed to stop fires spreading through buildings.

porta tallafoc

a fireproof door designed to stop fires spreading through buildings


drum and bass

Coordinate term: jungle

(music) A style of electronic dance music focusing heavily on loud bass and fast-tempo drumbeats.


open fire

en-verb

open fire (third-person singular simple present opens fire, present participle opening fire, simple past and past participle opened fire)

opens fire (present singular third-person)
opening fire (participle present)
opened fire (participle past)
opened fire (past)

In warfare, whoever opens fire first has a greater chance of victory.

The Atlanta was swinging through her own turn to avoid a collision with the van when the searchlight, probably from the destroyer Akatsuki, lit upon her from abaft the port beam. Captain Jenkins reacted as commanders had been trained in peacetime: "Counter-illuminate!" he shouted. His gunnery officer, Lieutenant Commander William R. D. Nickelson, Jr., preferred to respond with other hardware. At once he shouted into his headset mike: "Fuck that! Open fire!" His assistant, Lloyd Mustin, was recording accurate ranges from the narrowcasting fire-control radar and didn't need help from other wavelengths. "Action port. Illuminating ship is target," he instructed his gun captains. Mustin, controlling the after trio of five-inch mounts, and Nickelson slewed their directors onto the lights and opened fire immediately.

2011, James D. Hornfischer, “28: Into the Light”, in Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, New York: Bantam Books, →ISBN, retrieved 2022-11-21, pages 273–274:

(idiomatic) To begin firing (weapons) at something or someone.


maxima

From Latin maxima (“greatest”). Doublet of maxim.

(music) A music note equal to two (or sometimes three) longæ; in modern notation, this is typically equivalent to eight semibreves.


pibroch

From Scottish Gaelic pìobaireachd (“act of playing the bagpipes”), from pìobaire (“piper”) + -achd (“abstract noun suffix”).

uder

Ever, as on they bore, more loud / And louder rung the pibroch proud.

1810, The Lady of the Lake, Walter Scott, 2.XVII:

He had heard the stirring pibrochs speed the Gordons in their fights, / It had borne them through the fire zone as they swung up Dargai's heights […]

1908, E. G. Murphy, ‘The Doctor's Story’, Australian Ballads & Short Stories, Penguin, published 2003, page 279:

Halfway through The Big Music, Kirsty Gunn notes that piobaireachd, a particular form of bagpipe composition, sounds ‘foreign and strange’ to those not raised on it.

2012, Hannah Rosefield, “Piping Up”, in Literary Review, section 401:

A series of musical variations for the bagpipes, usually martial or funerary in nature.


mashup

From mash (“to convert into a mash; to mix thoroughly”) + up.

(informal) Something consisting of two or more elements combined together.

(music, slang) A remix created by combining two or more songs from different artists into one piece of music.


qawwal

2000: Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham, et al, eds, World Music: The Rough Guide, volume two of the new edition
What does It mean to be a qawwal?

A person who performs qawwali music or song.


APG

(petrochemistry) Abbreviation of Associated Petroleum Gas.


qawwali

en-noun

qawwali (countable and uncountable, plural qawwalis)

From Urdu قوالی (qawwālī), from Classical Persian قوالی (qawwālī).

Jameela Siddiqi listens to qawwali and talks to its performers […].

1994, Simon Broughton, World Music: The Rough Guide:

(music, uncountable) A style of Muslim devotional music, especially among the South Asian Sufis, accompanied by drums and harmonium.

They are singing not a religious qawwali but its secular and lay cousin.

1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 223:

Every Thursday, in the dargah's enclosure, musicians in shimmering turquoise kurtas, their fingers bejewelled with bling, perform qawwalis attributed to Khusrau […].

2016, Sunil Khilnani, Incarnations, Penguin, published 2017, page 86:

(music, countable) A song in this style.


pathopoeia

From Ancient Greek παθοποιία (pathopoiía); πάθος (páthos, “passion”) + ποιέω (poiéō, “make”).

(music) The arousing of emotion in someone who hears music; a passage designed to arouse emotions.


tempo mark

(music) A mark placed on the score by the composer describing at what speed the passage should be played.


accompagnato

Borrowed from Italian accompagnato, past participle of accompagnare (“to accompany”).

(music) A tempo mark directing that a recitative is to be accompanied by the orchestra.


accompagnato

(music) Describing a passage having this mark.


featuring

(rap music) A cameo on another performer's track.


vocalization

vocalization (countable and uncountable, plural vocalizations)

vowelization

supplying vowels/diacritics to Arabic and Hebrew words/texts

(music) The production of musical sounds using the voice, especially as an exercise


dadrock

(colloquial) Rock music that appeals to an older generation, or that is heavily influenced by that of an earlier era.


alphorn

From Alemannic German Alphorn, German Alphorn.

(music) A long, curved, wooden horn used by mountain-dwelling herders in the Alps, originally to call cattle but now only as musical instrument in classical and folk tunes.


baila

(music) A genre of music from Sri Lanka and India, mainly using European instruments and rhythms.


balaban

An Azerbaijani wind instrument made of wood.


ear candy

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-ear candy.wav

Mumba's music is ear candy: it crunches, it bubbles, it melts in the mouth.

2000 November 27, Christopher John Farley, “Irish Spring”, in Time, →ISSN:

I wanted it to just be something fun to listen to, like ear candy. I think that's what we got.

2013, Mathew Klickstein, quoting Rachel Sweet, Slimed!, Penguin, →ISBN, page 129:

(US, colloquial, music) Light popular music that has an instant appeal but no lasting impact or significance.

korvakarkki

light popular music that has an instant appeal but no lasting impact or significance


anechoic

en-adj

anechoic (comparative more anechoic, superlative most anechoic)

more anechoic (comparative)
most anechoic (superlative)

ănˌ-ĕ-kōˈ -ĭk

From an- + echoic, from echo + -ic, from Middle English ecco, ekko, from Medieval Latin ecco, from Latin echo, from Ancient Greek ἠχώ (ēkhṓ), from ἠχή (ēkhḗ, “sound”).

The bassoonist settled into the anechoic chamber and prepared for another grueling recording session.

(acoustics) Lacking echoes; particularly, designed to absorb sound.


bata

Two guitars, bata, bass drum and tambourine.

1990 October 28, Paul Simon, “The Rhythm of the Saints”, in The Coast, Warner Bros.:

Five drummers in front setting the dance—three beating barrel drums, a fourth beating a double-skin bata, and the fifth beating four small bata tied together.

2019, Marlon James, Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Hamish Hamilton, page 283:

A ceremonial double-headed drum played in triplet in the religion of santería, especially in Cuba and Puerto Rico, originally from the Yoruba of Nigeria.


corrido

The Mexican corrido remains essentially true to these Iberian roots in regard to its poetic form and its handling of narrative subjects. It is probable that the term corrido is a shortening of the term romance corrido, meaning a through-sung ballad, as attested in Spanish usage during the sixteenth century (Simmons 1963).

2015, John Holmes McDowell, ¡Corrido!: The Living Ballad of Mexico's Western Coast, UNM Press, →ISBN, page 2:

(music) A Mexican or Mexican-American ballad or folk song.


HM

When girls appropriate a male-dominated form like HM, can they discard its sexist content without replacing it with something else?

1982 April 24, “Women of Iron”, in Gay Community News, page 10:


dotara

Borrowed from Bengali দোতারা (dōtara) and Assamese দোতাৰা (dütara), from Persian دوتار (do târ) with the Bengali-Assamese suffix -আ (-a, “having, -ed”).

A stringed instrument resembling the mandolin.


quint

A musical or piquet term, or a quintuplet

From Middle French quint, from Latin quīntus.

(firefighting) A vehicle used by firefighters that combines the capabilities of a fire engine and a fire truck, having the ability to provide vertical access as well as pump water to fight a fire.


violins

The violins played most strenuously, but no one attended to them.

(music) the violin section of an orchestra


ermines

Attested in this form (with s) since at least 1562, in Legh's Accedens of Armorie, which defines it ("Sable poudred with Argent, … Ermines is his proper name") and contrasts it with both ermine and erminois. Related to ermine, but the derivation is unclear; the OED suggests "possibly [from] OF. herminès, pl. of herminet" (a supposed diminutive of hermine); modern French calls the fur contre-hermine.
The Fifteenth Century Book of Arms (c. 1460) uses ermyne in a way that sometimes contrasts with ermyn (“ermine”) ("John Garther beryth of ix pecys ermyñ and ermyne"); The Ancestor says the image of that blazon "shows the furs as those usually called at this date erminees (or erminee) and ermine—erminees being ermine with the colour reversed. It is evident that the maker of this roll, whose blazonry is sadly to seek, was uncertain by what name to call the ermine with the black field and white tails. On a later page of this MS. [fo. 59] we find ermine described as ermyñ and its reverse as ermyne)." The Middle English Dictionary defines that use of ermyne as "having the fur ermines, consisting of black with white spots (instead of black on white)", although they derive it from, and it appears to be, erminé ("ermined") instead, hence the Fifteenth Century Book also records a bend "sabyll ermyne" and a lion sable with "ermyne appon the sabyll".

He beareth Or, a Cheuron Checkey Ermin & Ermines.

1572, John Bossewell, Workes of Armorie, II, 129:

(heraldry): In blazon, coloured with a heraldic fur of a black field with white spots; counter-ermine.

kontrahermelin

of black colour with white spots on a coat of arms


cha-cha

From Cuban/Latin American Spanish cha-cha, imitative of the music.

onomatopoeic

imitative


scooper

(aviation, firefighting, informal) A type of air tanker waterbomber airplane, which is capable of landing on water, and directly scooping up water to fill its tanks, by skimming the water's surface with scoops delopyed.


vaudevillian

Harris was born in Richmond, Virginia, on February 9, 1947. His grandparents were vaudevillians, his father was a professional guitarist, and his mother was a leader of the church choir.

1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, →ISBN, page 322:

(US) Someone who performs in vaudeville.


visualizer

Fittingly, “Mood Swings” ft. Lil Tijay has found a viral star to anchor its music video in actress, model, and former Kylie Jenner bff Jordyn Woods. In the visualizer, Jordyn Woods is the central baddie with a fatty, posing in pools and in sports cars with other baddies Dylan and Dakota Gonzalez.

2020 August 20, Chris Murphy, “Lil’ Baddie Jordyn Woods Stars in Pop Smoke’s Posthumous Video for ‘Mood Swings’”, in Vulture:

(music) A video accompanying a song, usually simpler than a typical music video, intended to be a visual representation of the song.


con moto

(music) A tempo mark directing that a passage is to be played "with motion"


con moto

(music) describing a passage having this mark


atonality

en-noun

atonality (countable and uncountable, plural atonalities)

(uncountable, music) A style of music that is written without a key.

(countable, music) A passage written without a key.


attuned

And this year, some of the granite facades have a new addition - the blue and yellow of the flag of Ukraine. It's hardly surprising to see the Scots, a nation more attuned to independence than some, showing solidarity with a country brutally invaded by Russia.

2022 November 30, Paul Bigland, “Destination Oban: a Sunday in Scotland”, in RAIL, number 971, page 75:


walk-up

Deverbal from walk up; (northern flicker): imitative of the bird's call.

(music, especially bass) A sequence of notes that raises in pitch stepwise, connecting two or more chords.


carbon-date

en-verb

carbon-date (third-person singular simple present carbon-dates, present participle carbon-dating, simple past and past participle carbon-dated)

carbon-dates (present singular third-person)
carbon-dating (participle present)
carbon-dated (participle past)
carbon-dated (past)

After carbon-dating the artifact, the archaeologist determined that it was of late bronze age manufacture.

(transitive) To gauge the age of (an organic material) by comparing the ratio of carbon isotopes.


metronome

/ˈmɛtɹəˌnəʊm/

Coined in English from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure”) + νόμος (nómos, “regulation, law”).

der

(music) A device, containing an inverted pendulum, used to mark time by means of regular ticks at adjustable intervals; an electronic equivalent that emits flashes.


moonlit

en-adj

moonlit (comparative more moonlit, superlative most moonlit)

more moonlit (comparative)
most moonlit (superlative)

From moon + lit. Compare Saterland Frisian mouneljoacht (“moonlit”), West Frisian moanneljocht (“moonlit”), Dutch maanverlicht (“moonlit”), Danish månelys (“moonlit”), Swedish månljus (“moonlit”).

cog

But when the moon rose and the breeze awakened, and the sedges stirred, and the cat’s-paws raced across the moonlit ponds, and the far surf off Wonder Head intoned the hymn of the four winds, the trinity, earth and sky and water, became one thunderous symphony—a harmony of sound and colour silvered to a monochrome by the moon.

1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

People dispersed under a moonlit sky, with many saying they would return when the legislature resumes next week.

2024 May 24, Ann Scott Tyson, “Taiwan protesters meet China’s intimidation with defiance”, in The Christian Science Monitor:


intermezzo

en-noun

intermezzo (plural intermezzos or intermezzi)

intermezzos (plural)
intermezzi (plural)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-intermezzo.wav

She had ample time, too, to change for the next scene, which started with a longish intermezzo staged by a ballet company whose services Scotty had engaged [...].

1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin, published 2011, page 8:

(music, art) A short piece of music or act in the interval of the main spectacle; a theatrical interlude.


washtub bass

(music) A stringed instrument (chordophone), used in American folk music, that uses a metal washtub as resonator.


washboard

percussion instrument
percussion instrument

(music) Such a board used as a simple percussion instrument.


percussion instrument

percussion instrument (plural percussion instruments)

(music) An instrument in which the sound is produced by striking, scraping or shaking an object.


motivo

Borrowed from Italian motivo. Doublet of motif and motive.

By the repetition, transposition, inversion, and combination of different motivos, the extended series of sounds is formed[…]

1853, Adolf Bernhard Marx, The universal school of music, translated by A. H. Wehrhan, page 165:


orlo

(archaic) A Spanish wind instrument, possibly a crumhorn.


rasgueado

rasgueado (countable and uncountable, plural rasgueados)

For quotations using this term, see Citations:rasgueo.

(music) A rhythmical strumming technique commonly associated with flamenco guitar music.


rasgueo

rasgueo (countable and uncountable, plural rasgueos)

From Andalusian Spanish rasgueo, regional form of rasgueado, from the verb rasguear (“strum”). Attested in English from the 20th century (see quotations below).

The prominent rhythm is ♩♫♩, with the first note receiving stress through an agogic or dynamic accent, by being arpeggiated rapidly, or with an upward movement of the rasgueo.

1981, Robert Edwin Fogal, Traditional Music and the Middle Class: A Case Study of Mercedes, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dissertation, Indiana University, page 189:

There’s no denying that flamenco guitar with its machine-gun speed picking riffs and dizzying helicopter-like ‘rasgueo’ hand strums is physically punishing.

2011 March 14, Ciaran Giles, “Spaniards eat up Cdn guitarist; Flamenco guitar traditionally an area dominated by men”, in Trail Times, Trail, British Columbia, page 8:

His technique on the instrument mainly consists of medium-tempo strums and is somewhat rudimentary—compared to the virtuosic rasgueos of Los Sumac Huaynas’ Chocni López (briefly discussed in Chapter 3)

2020, Fernando Rios, Panpipes and Ponchos : Musical Folklorization and the Rise of the Andean Conjunto Tradition in la Paz, Bolivia, page 157:

There are several factors that contribute to the variety of options open to the guitar player when dealing with rasgueo. If a chord is held down by the left hand, the attack will sound differently depending on whether the fingers on the right hand thrust down, aided by gravity and the extension of the fingers, or are drawn up across the strings in a gripping action.

2021, Robin Foggo, “Flamenco: Musical Structure and the Practice of Improvisation”, in Musicologist, volume 5, →DOI, page 54:

(music, uncountable) A strumming technique associated with flamenco guitar playing; rasgueado.

On a larger structural level, there are semi-independent musical units or blocks, which, when placed within a compás and assembled, create a piece. These components include rasgueos (here I refer to the structural unit, which is comprised of the technique mentioned above), falsetas, llamadas (Eng. call), cierres and remates.

2021, Robin Foggo, “Flamenco: Musical Structure and the Practice of Improvisation”, in Musicologist, volume 5, →DOI, page 57:

(music) A passage within a song featuring guitar played with the technique.


diddle

diddle (countable and uncountable, plural diddles)

From dialectal duddle (“to trick”) (16th century), and diddle, duddle (“to totter”) (17th century), perhaps dissimilated from dialectal didder, dither (“to shake, tremble”), from Middle English dideren (“to shake, quiver, tremble”) and Middle English bididren (“to seduce, deceive”), from Old English bedidrian, bedyderian (“to trick, deceive”). Compare also Saterland Frisian diedelje (“to play or sing without a melody”), Dutch bedodden, bedotten (“to trick, fool, diddle”), German Low German Diedeldentjes (“pranks, pranking”). Possibly influenced or reinforced by the name (which itself was probably chosen as an allusion to duddle) of the swindling character Jeremy Diddler in Kenney's Raising the Wind (1803).
Meaning "to have sex with" is from the 19th century; "to masturbate" is from the 1950s. Compare dildo.

cog

(music, countable) In percussion, two consecutive notes played by the same hand (either RR or LL), similar to the drag, except that by convention diddles are played the same speed as the context in which they are placed.


trillo

en-noun

trillo (plural trillos or trilloes or trilli)

trillos (plural)
trilloes (plural)
trilli (plural)


blue-green

blue-green (countable and uncountable, plural blue-greens)

From blue + green.
* (color): Compare with the color called orange in Modern English, which was called geoluread (“yellow-red”) in Old English and Middle English.
* (politics): from blue representing conservatism and green representing environmentalism


naker

From Old French nacaire, nacre (cognate with Italian nacchera, mediaeval Latin nacara), from Arabic نَقَّارَة (naqqāra, “drum”).

the Norman trumpets from the battlements […], mingled with the deep and hollow clang of the nakers, (a species of kettle-drum,) retorted in notes of defiance the challenge of the enemy.

(music) A small drum, of Arabic origin, and the forebear of the European kettledrum.


monophonic

Coordinate term: polyphonic

Near-synonym: monodic

(music) Having a single melodic line and no harmony.

yksiääninen

having a single melodic line and no harmony


curtal

From older French courtault (modern French courtaud), from court (“short”) + -ault (pejorative suffix).


earphone

/ˈɪə(ɹ)fəʊn/

A transducer that converts electric signals into sound and is held near the ear, especially as part of a telephone; an earpiece or headphone.


Greek fire

“There is yet spirit in him,” said Malvoisin apart to Mont–Fitchet, “were it well directed — but, like the Greek fire, it burns whatever approaches it.”

(historical) A highly flammable substance of unknown composition first used by the Greeks of Constantinople in the 7th century C.E. to set fire to enemy ships, buildings etc.


ricercar

/ˌriːt͡ʃəɹˈkɑːɹ(eɪ)/

An instrumental musical composition, fugal in style but in a more serious character and with longer notes.


yestreen

From Middle English yestreen, alteration of yestereven (“last night, yesterday evening”), from Old English ġiestranǣfen (“yesterday evening”), equivalent to yester- + e'en (“evening”). Cognate with West Frisian justerjûn (“yestreen; last night”).

cog

It was the creature Dougal that extricated me, as he did yestreen […].

1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], chapter IV, in Rob Roy. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, page 95:

"Well, it's a funny thing, but I can't get rid of the impression that at some point in my researches into the night life of London yestreen I fell upon some person to whom I had never been introduced and committed mayhem upon his person."

1917, Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, chapter IV, in Piccadilly Jim, New York: Dodd, Mead and Company:

You have not forgotten our telephone conversation of yestreen, Jeeves?

1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XI, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:

Late yestreen I saw the new moon, the old moon in her arms

"Sir Patrick Spens," traditional Scottish ballad

(chiefly archaic, poetic or Scotland) The night before; last night.


off-key

en-adj

off-key (comparative more off-key, superlative most off-key)

more off-key (comparative)
most off-key (superlative)

(music) Pitched inaccurately either above or below the correct note.


double A-side

(music) A record, released as a single, with an album track on each side, rather than having a B-side.


one-shot

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-one-shot.wav

Loops automatically conform to a project's tempo; one-shots ignore the tempo and maintain a fixed duration. One-shots are files, such as a percussion hit or a sound effect, that are not intended to be looped.

2010, Mary Plummer, Apple Training Series: GarageBand 09, →ISBN:

Loops contain rhythmic patterns that sound designers can extend to fill any amount of time, while one-shots contain sound effects and other non-repeating sounds.

2016, Dave Collins, The Act of Musical Composition: Studies in the Creative Process, →ISBN:

(music) A music sample that is played without immediate repetition.


crashing

the ceaseless crashings of waves on the beach

The sound or action of something that crashes.


sul ponticello

(music, chiefly violin) Bowed near the bridge for the duration of a passage


senza sordino

(music) Without the mute. Specifically for the piano: with the sustain pedal.


poco a poco

Crescendo poco a poco – gradually getting louder.


polytonality

en-noun

polytonality (countable and uncountable, plural polytonalities)

(music) The use of multiple keys in the same composition, especially by multiple instruments at the same time

polyvalence

use of more than one harmonic function in one key


hornpipe

From Middle English hornpipe, hornpype, hornepipe, equivalent to horn + pipe; so called because the bell at the open end was sometimes made of horn.

(music) A musical instrument consisting of a wooden pipe, with holes at intervals.


Faded Giant

(US, euphemistic, military) A reporting term to identify an event involving a nuclear reactor or radiological accident.


postlude

From post- + Latin lūdus (“play”) (modelled on prelude).

(music) The final part of a piece; especially music played (normally on the organ) at the end of a church service.


postindustrial

en-adj

postindustrial (comparative more postindustrial, superlative most postindustrial)

more postindustrial (comparative)
most postindustrial (superlative)

(music) Of or relating to a genre of music derived from industrial music but with electronic and rock influences.


snow-white

From Middle English snow whit, snowe-white, snouwite, snawhwit, from Old English snāwhwīt, from Proto-West Germanic *snaiwhwīt, from Proto-Germanic *snaiwahwītaz; equivalent to snow + white. Cognate with Dutch sneeuwwit (“snow-white”), German schneeweiß (“snow-white”), Swedish snövit (“snow-white”).

(ethnic slur, offensive, slang) A Caucasian person, especially a woman.


moonscape

In the Australian outback, industrial activity — notably open-pit coal mining — has turned verdant areas into moonscapes seemingly overnight, and the suicide rate in the region has skyrocketed.

2007 December 20, Clive Thompson, “Clive Thompson on How the Next Victim of Climate Change Will Be Our Minds”, in Wired Magazine, number 16.01, archived from the original on 2013-06-30:

Looking across the recently flattened, desolate moonscape of this former 52-acre Great Western depot and industrial area, south of Willesden Junction in west London, it's hard to imagine it will be home to the UK's largest, busiest and best-connected new railway station since Victorian times.

2020 July 15, Marion Gourlay, “Old Oak Common: no ordinary station”, in Rail, page 48:

(by extension) A desolate or devastated landscape.


head

one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind

Spoken by Neil Armstrong when he first stepped onto the surface of the Moon. Armstrong intended to say "one small step for a man", but misspoke.http://www.snopes.com/quotes/onesmall.asp

(idiomatic) (used imitatively) A cliché used to exaggerate an accomplishment or milestone.


arrhythmic

en-adj

arrhythmic (comparative more arrhythmic, superlative most arrhythmic)

more arrhythmic (comparative)
most arrhythmic (superlative)

Could there have been a more fatuous and arrhythmic and unmemorable conclusion to what had been, after all, my analysis, my only analysis?

1998 August 17, Adam Gopnik, “Man Goes To See a Doctor”, in The New Yorker:


clavier

Borrowed from French clavier (“keyboard”), from Latin clavis (“key”).

[…]play certain of the stops in octaves to each other, while merely touching single notes on the clavier

1870, A Description of the Grand Organ in the Town Hall, Leeds:

(music) The keyboard of an organ, pianoforte, or harmonium.


RAC

rock against communism
rock against communism#English

(music) Initialism of rock against communism, a subgenre of hardcore punk associated with neo-nazism.


broken chord

(music) A chord whose notes are played in sequential descending or ascending order


tight-lipped

tight-lipped (comparative more tight-lipped, superlative most tight-lipped)

more tight-lipped (comparative)
most tight-lipped (superlative)

indiscreet

antonym(s) of “unwilling to divulge information”

He would have sprung upon Captain Blood, who stood aloof, alert, tight-lipped, and watchful.

1922, Rafael Sabatini, Captain Blood: His Odyssy, chapter XXV

Gaining the dak, they were joined on the veranda by four tight-lipped men.

1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter XV, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, published 1940, page 162:

(literal) Having the lips pressed tightly together, hence, not speaking.

The open access operator has remained tight-lipped over what may have caused the driver to suddenly apply the brake, but stressed that safety was its priority.

2022 May 4, “Network News: RAIB looking into emergency brake application of train at Peterborough”, in RAIL, number 956, page 12:

(idiomatic) Unwilling to divulge information.


wine-colored

wine-colored (comparative more wine-colored, superlative most wine-colored)

more wine-colored (comparative)
most wine-colored (superlative)

wine-colored:

Having the rich, deep red color of red wine.


sunburn

en-noun

sunburn (countable and uncountable, plural sunburns)

From Middle English *sunne burnen, *sonne brennen, *sunne brennen (suggested by derivatives sonne brennynge, sunne brennynge (“sunburn”, literally “sun-burning”) and sunne brente (“sunburnt”), equivalent to sun + burn. Compare West Frisian sinnebrân (“sunburn”), Dutch zonnebrand (“sunburn”), German Sonnenbrand (“sunburn”), Swedish solbränna (“sunburn”), and Icelandic sólbruni (“sunburn”), as well as Old English sunbryne (“sunburn”).

A burn on the skin caused by excess exposure to the sun's rays.

A burn on the tissue of crop plants or their fruits (especially if they are rich in water like tomatoes, grapes, apples, gooseberries) caused by excess exposure to the sun's rays.

The neutral colours showed off her café au lait sunburn.

1956, Ian Fleming, chapter 22, in Diamonds Are Forever:


sunburn

en-verb

sunburn (third-person singular simple present sunburns, present participle sunburning, simple past and past participle sunburned or (mostly Commonwealth) sunburnt)

sunburns (present singular third-person)
sunburning (participle present)
sunburned (participle past)
sunburned (past)
sunburnt (Commonwealth participle past)
sunburnt (Commonwealth past)

My Aunt charg’d me not to pull off my Glove for fear of Sun-burning my hand.

1668, John Dryden, Sir Martin Mar-all, London: H. Herringman, act II, page 11:

As we crossed the Colorado-Utah border I saw God in the sky in the form of huge gold sunburning clouds above the desert […]

1957, Jack Kerouac, chapter 1, in On the Road, Viking Press, →OCLC, part 3:

“Oh shoot, I’ve sunburned the top half of my boobs,” she said, frowning down her chest.

1989, Barbara Kingsolver, chapter 7, in The Bean Trees, New York: Harper and Row, page 95:

If you are serious about protecting your eyes, look into wearing goggles or alpine glasses that protect the sides of the eyes as well as the direct path of light into them. I once hiked up Mary’s Glacier wearing only a hat. That night after the hike I couldn’t sleep. I had sunburnt my eyes. It felt like hot pokers were being stuffed into my head. I could not open my eyes for four days.

1998, Kevin Ryan, The Illustrated Guide to Snowboarding, Masters Press, The McGraw-Hill Companies, →ISBN, page 106:

(transitive) To burn or tan (someone's skin) by the sun; to allow (a part of one's body) to become sunburnt.


symphonious

en-adj

symphonious (comparative more symphonious, superlative most symphonious)

more symphonious (comparative)
most symphonious (superlative)

From sym- (“together”) + phone (“sound”) + -ious.

affix

The symphonious sound of fifty skilled musicians filled the concert hall.

Of or pertaining to simultaneous sounds that are harmonious together.


woodwinds

(music) The woodwind instruments of an orchestra collectively


woodblock

(music) A percussion instrument consisting of a hollow block of wood struck with a drumstick.


slackness

en-noun

slackness (usually uncountable, plural slacknesses)

From Middle English slacnesse, slakenes, slaknesse; equivalent to slack + -ness. Compare Old English slæcness.

The state of being slack; the quality of having slack.


raven-haired

en-adj

raven-haired (comparative more raven-haired, superlative most raven-haired)

more raven-haired (comparative)
most raven-haired (superlative)

`Attractive, raven-haired, about twenty-three and with a figure like Diana Dors.'

1965, James Holledge, What Makes a Call Girl?, London: Horwitz Publications, page 101:

Having hair that is very black and lustrous.

黒髪の

having hair that is very black and lustrous


woodshed

en-verb

woodshed (third-person singular simple present woodsheds, present participle woodshedding, simple past and past participle woodshedded)

woodsheds (present singular third-person)
woodshedding (participle present)
woodshedded (participle past)
woodshedded (past)

Recently, I have taken up the double bass again, but because time and neglect erode ability, calluses turn soft, and muscle memory fades, I need to woodshed (practice) to get back into shape and build up my chops.

1999 June, Al Stevens, “Jukebox: Covering the Basses”, in Dr. Dobb's Journal, volume 24, number 6, San Francisco, Calif.: Miller Freeman, Inc., →ISSN, page 115:

His latest novel sheds light on an émigré writer’s woodshedding period.

2007 July 23, “A Free Life”, in Publishers Weekly:

(slang, music) To practice or rehearse using a musical instrument.


earsplitting

en-adj

earsplitting (comparative more earsplitting, superlative most earsplitting)

more earsplitting (comparative)
most earsplitting (superlative)

Performing an earsplitting solo on an out-of-tune guitar

2012, The Onion Book of Known Knowledge, page 60:


two-step

(music) A piece of music for this dance.


bouzouki

From Greek μπουζούκι (bouzoúki, “bouzouki”), from Turkish bozuk (“out of order, rotten”). Doublet of buzuq.

The bouzouki itself, identified by this time almost equally with a ‘Turkish’ past and with the criminality of the underworld that cultivated it, became a symbol of subversion in the eyes of the authorities.

2019, Roderick Beaton, Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation, Penguin, published 2020, page 262:

(music) A Greek long-necked plucked fretted lute with a sharp, metallic sound.


choirboy

Coordinate term: choirgirl

Kordic is no choirboy. The tribunal has accused him of crimes against humanity for helping to orchestrate a massive campaign of persecution against Muslims in the Lasva valley in central Bosnia.

2004, Pierre Hazan, Justice in a Time of War, page 108:

puhdas pulmunen (compare puhdas kuin pulmunen)


growling

(jazz) The technique of producing a low-pitched growling or rumbling sound on a wind instrument.