Melodised

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. To render with a musical tune ; to set spoken words or phrases into a melody ; to imbue a passage with harmonic flow
2. To adapt speech or text by adding a sung or tuneful element ; to transform prose or poetry by assigning notes and rhythm ; to inflect language with musical intonation
3. To embellish spoken language by applying melodic patterns ; to convert ordinary language into a songlike form ; to enhance verbal expression through musical phrasing

Etymology: "Melodised" is the past tense and past participle of "melodise," the British spelling of "melodize," so its history is that of the verb it inflects. The verb is built from "melody," which came into English through Old French "melodie" from Latin "melodia," itself borrowed from Greek "melōidia," a compound of "melos" (song, tune, limb) and "ōidē" (song, ode). The Greek root "melos" is the same one behind words like "melic" and "melodrama," and it is the source of the "mel-" in many terms for sweetness and music. The verb "melodise" follows the common pattern of adding "-ise" to a noun to mean "to make into or treat in the manner of" that noun. Its meaning therefore runs from the plain sense of setting words to a tune toward the more figurative sense of giving ordinary speech a musical shape. The past forms "melodised" and the adjective use share that meaning, describing language or a passage that has been given such musical phrasing.

Synonyms: sung, toned, harmonized, intoned, vocalized