| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| descant |
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| SYLLABICATION: | des·cant |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  d s k nt |
| NOUN: | 1. also dis·cant (d s-) Music a. An ornamental melody or counterpoint sung or played above a theme. b. The highest part sung in part music. 2. A discussion or discourse on a theme. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: des·cant·ed, des·cant·ing, des·cants
(dsknt, d-sknt)1. To comment at length; discourse: “He used to descant critically on the dishes which had been at table” (James Boswell). 2. also dis·cant ( dsknt, d-sknt) Music a. To sing or play a descant. b. To sing melodiously. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, from Anglo-Norman descaunt, from Medieval Latin discantus, a refrain : Latin dis-, dis- + Latin cantus, song, from past participle of canere, to sing. See kan- in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | descanter —NOUN
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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