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cantillate

[kan-tl-eyt] /ˈkæn tlˌeɪt/
verb (used with object), cantillated, cantillating.
1.
to chant; intone.
Origin of cantillate
Late Latin
1860-1865
1860-65; < Late Latin cantillātus sung low, hummed (past participle of cantillāre), equivalent to cant- sing (see cant1) + -ill- diminutive suffix + -ātus -ate1
Related forms
cantillation, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.
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Examples from the Web for cantillation
Historical Examples

  • The cantillation of the mele was in the distinct and quiet tone and manner which the Hawaiians termed ko'i-honua.

    Unwritten Literature of Hawaii Nathaniel Bright Emerson

  • The feature that most interests us is the singing, or cantillation, of the oli.

    Unwritten Literature of Hawaii Nathaniel Bright Emerson

  • They guide the modulated flow of the voice in cantillation, thus serving, in a certain sense, as musical notes.

    Companion to the Bible E. P. Barrows
British Dictionary definitions for cantillation

cantillation

/ˌkæntɪˈleɪʃən/
noun
1.
the traditional notation representing the various traditional Jewish melodies to which scriptural passages are chanted
2.
chanting or intonation

cantillate

/ˈkæntɪˌleɪt/
verb
1.
to chant (passages of the Hebrew Scriptures) according to the traditional Jewish melody
2.
to intone or chant
Word Origin
C19: from Late Latin cantillāre to sing softly, from Latin cantāre to sing
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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