passacaglia

[ pah-suh-kahl-yuh, pas-uh-kal- ]
/ ˌpɑ səˈkɑl yə, ˌpæs əˈkæl- /

noun

a slow, dignified dance of Spanish origin.
the music for this dance, based on an ostinato figure.
a musical form based on continuous variations over a ground bass.

Origin of passacaglia

1650–60; pseudo-Italian spelling of earlier passacalle < Spanish pasacalle literally, step (i.e., dance) in the street ( pasa 3rd singular present of pasar to step, pace1 + calle street < Latin callem, accusative of callis path)

Example sentences from the Web for passacaglia

British Dictionary definitions for passacaglia

passacaglia
/ (ˌpæsəˈkɑːljə) /

noun

an old Spanish dance in slow triple time
a slow instrumental piece characterized by a series of variations on a particular theme played over a repeated bass part See also chaconne (def. 1)

Word Origin for passacaglia

C17: earlier passacalle, from Spanish pasacalle street dance, from paso step + calle street; the ending -alle was changed to -aglia to suggest an Italian origin