Discanted

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Spoke or wrote at length on a subject, in an old-fashioned way ; sang or played a higher melodic line sounded above the main tune
2. Held forth at great length in speech or writing about a topic ; performed a treble counter-melody over a principal melody
3. Discoursed lengthily on some theme, as in older writing ; provided a soaring upper line sung or played over the main melody

Etymology: "Discanted" is the past tense and past participle of "discant," a verb meaning to talk at length, often at tedious length. The verb came into English from Latin "discantus," and it is a doublet of "descant," the musical term for a melody sung or played above a base line. That pairing is the key to the sense shift: a discant was originally a counterpoint line in medieval polyphony, a voice spinning its own elaboration over a fixed tune. From music, the idea of ornamented elaboration spread to speech. To discant on a subject was to expand upon it, improvising variations on a theme, and over time the emphasis moved from the decorative to the lengthy. The two spellings split apart in English, with "descant" keeping the musical sense and "discant" retaining a sense of wordy elaboration.

Synonyms: sang, chanted, warbled