Cantillations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A series of musical phrases or melodic embellishments often sung or recited in a liturgical context
2. vocalizations characterized by a rhythmic or chant-like delivery
3. the art of performing musical passages that may serve both decorative and doctrinal purposes

Etymology: "Cantillation" is the chanting of sacred texts, most famously the Hebrew Bible, in a patterned melody. The melodic signs written above and below the text, which tell the reader how to chant each phrase, are what give the word its practical meaning. The Latin root "cantare" means "to sing," so the word is built on the same stem as "cantor" and "chant." The term is formed from "cantillate," a verb built on the Latin "cantillare," meaning to sing softly or to hum. Its ending "-ation" turns the action into a noun, so a cantillation is the act or result of singing in this manner. "Cantillations" is simply the plural, referring to the individual melodic passages or the set of chanting traditions.

Synonyms: chantings, recitations, hymns, psalms, verses