hemiola

[ hem-ee-oh-luh ]
/ ˌhɛm iˈoʊ lə /

noun Music.

a rhythmic pattern of syncopated beats with two beats in the time of three or three beats in the time of two.

Origin of hemiola

1590–1600; < Medieval Latin hēmiolia < Greek hēmiolía the ratio of one and a half to one, feminine of hēmiolíos half as large again, equivalent to hēmi- hemi- + ( h)ól(os) whole + -ios adj. suffix

Words nearby hemiola

hemin, hemings, sally, hemingway, hemingway, ernest, hemingwayesque, hemiola, hemiopia, hemiopic pupillary reaction, hemiparanesthesia, hemiparaplegia, hemiparasite

Example sentences from the Web for hemiola

  • Music aficionados recognize this rhythm as a triplet or “hemiola”: the playing of two different musical patterns simultaneously.

    The Goldilocks of Black Holes |Matthew R. Francis |August 24, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for hemiola

hemiola

hemiolia

/ (ˌhɛmɪˈəʊlə) /

noun

music a rhythmic device involving the superimposition of, for example, two notes in the time of three Also called: sesquialtera

Derived forms of hemiola

hemiolic (ˌhɛmɪˈɒlɪk), adjective

Word Origin for hemiola

New Latin, from Greek hēmiolia ratio of one to one and a half, from hemi- + ( h) olos whole