coda
[ koh-duh ]
/ ˈkoʊ də /
noun
Music. a more or less independent passage, at the end of a composition, introduced to bring it to a satisfactory close.
Ballet. the concluding section of a ballet, especially the final part of a pas de deux.
a concluding section or part, especially one of a conventional form and serving as a summation of preceding themes, motifs, etc., as in a work of literature or drama.
anything that serves as a concluding part.
Phonetics. the segment of a syllable following the nucleus, as the d-sound in good.Compare core1(def 14), onset(def 3).
QUIZZES
FOR POSTERITY’S SAKE, TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!
Are words your bailiwick? Take the latest quiz on the words from July 6 to July 12 to find out.
Question 1 of 7
bailiwick
Origin of coda
1745–55; < Italian < Latin cauda tail; cf. queue
Words nearby coda
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for coda
British Dictionary definitions for coda
coda
/ (ˈkəʊdə) /
noun
music the final, sometimes inessential, part of a musical structure
a concluding part of a literary work, esp a summary at the end of a novel of further developments in the lives of the characters
Word Origin for coda
C18: from Italian: tail, from Latin cauda
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
Cultural definitions for coda
coda
An ending to a piece of music, standing outside the formal structure of the piece. Coda is the Italian word for “tail.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.