mordent

or mor·dant

[ mawr-dnt ]
/ ˈmɔr dnt /

noun Music.

a melodic embellishment consisting of a rapid alternation of a principal tone with the tone a half or a whole step below it, called single or short when the auxiliary tone occurs once and double or long when this occurs twice or more.
inverted mordent.

Origin of mordent

1800–10; < German < Italian mordente biting < Latin mordent-, stem of mordēns, present participle of mordēre to bite; see -ent

Words nearby mordent

mordacious, mordancy, mordant, mordant rouge, mordecai, mordent, mordida, mordovian autonomous republic, mordred, mordvin, mordvinian republic

Example sentences from the Web for mordent

British Dictionary definitions for mordent

mordent
/ (ˈmɔːdənt) /

noun

music a melodic ornament consisting of the rapid alternation of a note with a note one degree lower than it Also called: lower mordent

Word Origin for mordent

C19: from German, from Italian mordente, from mordere to bite