ostinato

[ os-ti-nah-toh; Italian aws-tee-nah-taw ]
/ ˌɒs tɪˈnɑ toʊ; Italian ˌɔs tiˈnɑ tɔ /

noun, plural os·ti·na·tos. Music.

a constantly recurring melodic fragment.

Origin of ostinato

1875–80; < Italian: literally, obstinate < Latin obstinātus obstinate

Example sentences from the Web for ostinato

British Dictionary definitions for ostinato

ostinato
/ (ˌɒstɪˈnɑːtəʊ) /

noun

  1. a continuously reiterated musical phrase
  2. (as modifier)an ostinato passage

Word Origin for ostinato

Italian: from Latin obstinātus obstinate