barcarole

American  

[bahr-kuh-rohl] / ˈbɑr kəˌroʊl /

Or barcarolle

noun

1. a boating song of the Venetian gondoliers.

2. a piece of music composed in the style of such songs.

---

barcarole British  

/ ˌbɑːkəˈrəʊl, ˈbɑːkəˌrəʊl, -ˌrɒl /

noun

1. a Venetian boat song in a time of six or twelve quaver beats to the bar

2. an instrumental composition resembling this

---

Etymology

Origin of barcarole

1605–15; < Venetian barcarola boatman's song, feminine of barcarolo, equivalent to barcar- (< Late Latin barcārius boatman; see bark ³, -ary) + -olo (≪ Latin -eolus )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

barcarole

Long-held but shifting sonorities here suggest a barcarole as a voyage to the underworld.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 30, 2014

As the Sicilian men intone shocked syllables in a martial rhythm, a carefree barcarole suddenly emerges from a passing boat carrying ladies and gentlemen to the ball.

From New York Times ● Jul. 7, 2013

She moved off with her book to a window; shut herself out from the room, and into the storm, with a heavy fall of curtains; and Nelly's voice rippled through a tripping, Venetian barcarole.

From The Continental Monthly, Vol 6, No 5, November 1864 Devoted To Literature And National Policy by Various

Annette had now a new incentive to work; the fisherman had once praised her voice when she hummed a barcarole on the sands, and he had insisted that there was power in its rich notes.

From The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories by Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson

He ran upstairs, singing a barcarole at the top of his voice, and rushed into the room, waving the model ship above his head.

From Stories by English Authors: Africa (Selected by Scribners) by W. C. (William Charles) Scully