Discantus

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of medieval vocal music that involves adding a second melodic line to a chant, often in a harmonized style
2. An early form of polyphony characterized by counterpoint and the combination of melodic lines
3. A term referring to a specific technique in liturgical music where a melodic decoration is applied to a plainchant melody

Etymology: Medieval singers used "discantus" for a second voice sung over a plainchant. The Latin combines "dis-", meaning "apart," and "cantus," meaning "song," so the name described the practice literally: a separate melody sung against the chant. By the high Middle Ages, Latin music treatises used the word for both the added line and the art of writing it, which is how the technique of counterpoint developed. English borrowed the term through Anglo-Norman and Old French "deschant," and writers spelled it "discant" for centuries before "descant" became standard. Today the English word usually means a decorative higher melody sung above a hymn or carol tune.

Synonyms: descant, counterpoint, melody, countermelody, polyphony