fugue
[ fyoog ]
/ fyug /
noun
Music.
a polyphonic composition based upon one, two, or more themes, which are enunciated by several voices or parts in turn, subjected to contrapuntal treatment, and gradually built up into a complex form having somewhat distinct divisions or stages of development and a marked climax at the end.
Psychiatry.
a period during which a person suffers from loss of memory, often begins a new life, and, upon recovery, remembers nothing of the amnesic phase.
Origin of fugue
1590–1600; < French < Italian
fuga < Latin: flight
OTHER WORDS FROM fugue
fugue·like, adjectiveWords nearby fugue
Example sentences from the Web for fugue
British Dictionary definitions for fugue
fugue
/ (fjuːɡ) /
noun
a musical form consisting essentially of a theme repeated a fifth above or a fourth below the continuing first statement
psychiatry
a dreamlike altered state of consciousness, lasting from a few hours to several days, during which a person loses his or her memory for his or her previous life and often wanders away from home
Derived forms of fugue
fuguelike, adjectiveWord Origin for fugue
C16: from French, from Italian
fuga, from Latin: a running away, flight
Medical definitions for fugue
fugue
[ fyōōg ]
n.
A pathological amnesiac condition that may persist for several months and usually results from severe mental stress, in which one is apparently conscious of one's actions but has no recollection of them after returning to a normal state.