Melodising

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Creating or performing tunes with pleasing sequences of notes ; uttering words or sounds in a tuneful, musical way
2. Writing or playing music built around memorable lines of notes ; speaking or singing with an agreeable, lilting sound
3. Forming pleasing tunes through composition or performance ; producing a musical, sing-song manner of voice or speech

Etymology: "Melodising" is the British spelling of "melodizing," the present participle and gerund of the verb "melodise." The verb comes from "melody," which entered English from Old French "melodie," itself from Latin "melodia," borrowed from Greek "melōidia," a compound of "melos" (song, tune, limb) and "ōidē" (song, ode). The Greek root "melos" is the same source that gave us words like "melodrama" and "melic," and it is a neat reminder that the idea of a tune was once bound up with song sung in performance. The "-ise" ending is the standard British verb suffix, borrowed through French from Greek "-izein," and it turns a noun into an action: to melodise is to make melody. The "-ing" ending then turns that action into a continuing process, so the word describes someone or something in the act of producing pleasing tunes.