cantabile

[kahn-tah-bi-ley, -bee-, kuhn-, kahn-tah-bee-le]

adjective

1. songlike and flowing in style.

adverb

1. in a cantabile manner.

cantabile

/ kænˈtɑːbɪlɪ /

adjective

1. (to be performed) in a singing style, i.e. flowingly and melodiously

noun

1. a piece or passage performed in this way

Word History and Origins

Origin of cantabile¹

1720–30; < Italian < Late Latin cantābilis worth singing, equivalent to Latin cantā ( re ) to sing ( cant ¹ ) + -bilis -ble

Word History and Origins

Origin of cantabile¹

Italian, from Late Latin cantābilis, from Latin cantāre to sing

Example Sentences

That opulence was readily apparent in the ceaseless flow of cantabile melodies in Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony.

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This led to Florence Price’s wistfully lyrical Andante cantabile movement from her 1935 String Quartet No. 2, which came across with glowing richness in this version for string ensemble.

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It’s hard to play a cantabile when your mind is a tornado, Isa thought as she started over again.

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I like very much that big duality, on one side drama and power, and on the other side such cantabile and a poetic approach to life.

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Telemundo, using the marketing power of many NBCUniversal networks, wants to attract viewers with a different sound: Cantor’s cantabile con brio.

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