Meaning of melody in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /ˈmɛlədi/

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  1. Noun

    melody

    Etymology

    Middle English (also in the sense ‘sweet music’): from Old French melodie, via late Latin from Greek melōidia, from melos‘song’

    Definitions

    1. a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence

    Examples

    • « she was humming an air from Beethoven »

    Derived terms

  2. 2. the perception of pleasant arrangements of musical notes

Famous quotes

  • « They were singing in French, but the melody was freedom and any American could understand that. »
    Audie Murphy
  • « Jazz took too much discipline. You have to come in at the right place, which is different than me singing the blues, where I can sing, 'Oh, baby,' if there's a pause in the melody. With jazz, you better leave that space open, or put in something real cool. »
    Etta James
  • « Asking the author of historical novels to teach you about history is like expecting the composer of a melody to provide answers about radio transmission. »
    Lion Feuchtwanger
  • « Music has a poetry of its own, and that poetry is called melody. »
    Joshua Logan
  • « I realised a long time ago that instrumental music speaks a lot more clearly than English, Spanish, Yiddish, Swahili, any other language. Pure melody goes outside time. »
    Carlos Santana

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