countersubject

American  

[koun-ter-suhb-jikt] / ˈkaʊn tərˈsʌb dʒɪkt /

noun

Music.

1. a theme in a fugue that occurs simultaneously with the second and often the subsequent themes of the main subject.

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countersubject British  

/ ˈkaʊntəˌsʌbdʒɪkt /

noun

1. music (in a fugue) the theme in one voice that accompanies the statement of the subject in another

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Etymology

Origin of countersubject

First recorded in 1850–55; counter- + subject

Example Sentences

This is not an original device, but a classic one in the world of Western music theory, subject and countersubject.

From Slate • Mar. 28, 2014

Obviously the process may be carried further, the first countersubject going on to a second when the subject enters in the third part and so on.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various