Hexachordal

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to a hexachord, the six-note scale pattern used in medieval and Renaissance music theory for solmization
2. Describing the system or pattern of six-note scales that formed the basis of early European music teaching
3. Of or pertaining to the sequence of six tones, with its characteristic intervals, used in medieval musical practice

Etymology: Guido of Arezzo's sol-fa system, the six-note scale that gave us the names "do" through "la," is the history hiding inside this word. A hexachord was a set of six consecutive notes in that system, and "hexachordal" describes anything relating to those six-note groups. The Greek root "hex" meant six, and "chord" came into English from Greek "chorde," meaning string, which is why a musical chord was once imagined as a bundle of strings struck together. The word is built plainly. English took "hexachord" and added the suffix "-al," which comes through Old French from Latin "-alis" and simply means "relating to." So "hexachordal" means "relating to a hexachord," with no surprises in the suffix itself. The first part, "hexa-," is the Greek combining form for six, found in other technical coinages such as "hexagon."