Cantatory

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Pertaining to the act or manner of chanting or singing in a melodic or recitative way
2. Connected with the style or practice of vocal performance that involves chanting or melodic intonation
3. Describes something associated with chant-like or song-like vocal expression, often in a ritual or formal context

Etymology: "Cantatory" is formed from the Latin "cantare," meaning "to sing," which is also the source of "chant" and "cantata." The word takes the Latin suffix "-orius," which forms adjectives meaning "pertaining to" or "serving for," so "cantatory" literally means "pertaining to singing." English borrowed the Latin adjective "cantorius," from which the English form descends, and the word has long been a learned term used mainly in discussions of music, religious ritual and speech. The sense of the word stays close to its Latin roots. A "cantatory" style is one in which speech is raised into a sung or chanted rhythm, such as the intoning of a liturgy or the recitation of verse. Because it is a technical adjective, it appears most often in scholarly writing about worship, poetry and performance rather than in everyday speech.