Try Our Apps
Dictionary.com

follow Dictionary.com

The Best Internet Slang

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.
Cite This Source
Examples from the Web for cantillation
Historical Examples

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

    Unwritten Literature of Hawaii Nathaniel Bright Emerson

  • 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

  • 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
Cite This Source

Word of the Day

Difficulty index for cantillate

Few English speakers likely know this word

Word Value for cantillation

0
19
Scrabble Words With Friends

Nearby words for cantillation

The BEST INSULTS are ones your enemies have to look up.