Discanting

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Speaking or writing at length on a subject, often tediously ; performing a higher melodic line sung or played above a principal tune
2. Holding forth at great length about a topic ; singing or playing an independent treble melody that accompanies a main theme
3. Going on at length in discourse on some matter ; producing a descant, a decorative upper voice added over the main melody

Etymology: "Discanting" is the present participle of "discant", which is itself a doublet of "descant": both come from Latin "discantus", a term for a melodic part sung or played above a basic tune. The two English forms entered by different routes, so one spelling kept the musical sense of an ornamental line over a plainchant, while the other drifted toward ordinary speech. Discant once meant to sing or play such a counter-melody, and the musical sense is the older one. Over time the word lost its strict connection to music and came to describe speaking or writing at length on a topic, as if elaborating a theme with endless variations. The link to song remains visible in the idea of spinning out a single line into a long, decorative performance.

Synonyms: descant, sing, chant, warble

Antonyms: silence