solfège
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of solfège
First recorded in 1900–05; from French, from Italian
Explanation
In music class or in movies about music, you may have heard singing that uses solfege, a series of syllables starting "do, re, mi." These syllables can be used for the notes of the scale in any key. Solfège is French, from the Italian word solfeggio. Solfeggio is made up of sol + fa, two of the syllables used for the notes of the scale, plus the suffix -eggio indicating that it is a method or system. The international solfege syllables in order are do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do. In English, so is routinely used for the fifth note. Solfege allows people to learn the notes of a melody without worrying about the lyrics or what key it’s in.
Vocabulary lists containing solfege
Music - Middle School
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Music - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Solfege corresponds to the notes of the major scale, using the syllables Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, and Ti.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
