cantus
Americannoun
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cantus
plural
noun
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a medieval form of church singing; chant
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Also called: canto. the highest part in a piece of choral music
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(in 15th- or 16th-century music) a piece of choral music, usually secular, in polyphonic style
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cantus
From Latin, dating back to 1580–90; see origin at canto
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.
Each section is built on a simple cantus firmus — a brief, unharmonized chant — around which a rich, involving six-part harmonic fabric is woven.
From New York Times ● Apr. 3, 2011
The album of folk-inspired Christmas music, a welcome change from today's homogenized carols, ranges from a 12th century Latin tune, Ad cantus leticie, to a rousing Gloucestershire Wassail from modern Britain.
From Time Magazine Archive
Note the derivation of canto, cantabile, etc., from the Latin word cantus, meaning a song.
From Music Notation and Terminology by Karl Wilson Gehrkens
Counterpoint is the art of adding one or more parts or melodies to a given melody, the latter being known as the "cantus firmus," or subject.
From Music Notation and Terminology by Karl Wilson Gehrkens
It is his way of carrying on together a cantus firmus in two's and a counterpoint in three's.
From The Masters and their Music A series of illustrative programs with biographical, esthetical, and critical annotations by W. S. B. (William Smythe Babcock) Mathews
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