Strophic

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈstɹəʊfɪk/

Definitions

1. Pertaining to a composition style in which multiple stanzas share the same melody while often allowing for different lyrics across those stanzas
2. Characterizing a musical or literary form that maintains a repetitive structure by utilizing identical melodic lines for successive stanzas with variations in the text
3. Describes a style of music or poetry where each stanza is performed to the same tune, despite changes in the words

Etymology: "Strophic" comes from "strophe," a Greek word meaning "a turning" or "a twisting," which in ancient Greek drama and poetry referred to a section of a choral ode. The chorus would move across the stage in one direction while singing a strophe, then sing a matching section while moving back, so the "turn" was originally a physical movement as much as a poetic unit. The adjective is formed by adding the suffix "-ic" to "strophe." That suffix passed into English through Latin "-icus" and Old French "-ique," and entered English in Middle English as "-ik." Its job is to mean "relating to" or "having the character of," so "strophic" describes something arranged in strophes. In musical use, a strophic song repeats the same melody for every verse, which is why the word now means "same tune throughout."

Synonyms: repetitive, cyclical

Antonyms: through-composed