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descant

[noun, adjective des-kant; verb des-kant, dis-]
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noun
  1. Music.
    1. a melody or counterpoint accompanying a simple musical theme and usually written above it.
    2. (in part music) the soprano.
    3. a song or melody.
  2. a variation upon anything; comment on a subject.
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adjective
  1. Music (chiefly British ).
    1. soprano: a descant recorder.
    2. treble: a descant viol.
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verb (used without object)
  1. Music. to sing.
  2. to comment or discourse at great length.
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Also discant.

Origin of descant

1350–1400; Middle English discant, descaunt < Anglo-French < Medieval Latin discanthus, equivalent to Latin dis- dis-1 + cantus song; see chant
Related formsdes·cant·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for descant

Historical Examples

  • After all this, might we descant upon the squire's characteristics.

    The Complete Prose Works of Martin Farquhar Tupper

    Martin Farquhar Tupper

  • It is easy for us now to descant on the virtues of moderation.

  • He tried to descant upon the weather, but the subject failed him.

    The heart of happy hollow

    Paul Laurence Dunbar

  • But he did not choose to descant upon his gracelessness to Margery.

  • It is unnecessary to descant upon the economy of this procedure.

British Dictionary definitions for descant

descant

noun (ˈdɛskænt, ˈdɪs-)
  1. Also: discant a decorative counterpoint added above a basic melody
  2. a comment, criticism, or discourse
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adjective (ˈdɛskænt, ˈdɪs-)
  1. Also: discant of or pertaining to the highest member in common use of a family of musical instrumentsa descant recorder
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verb (dɛsˈkænt, dɪs-) (intr)
  1. Also: discant (often foll by on or upon) to compose or perform a descant (for a piece of music)
  2. (often foll by on or upon) to discourse at length or make varied comments
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Derived Formsdescanter, noun

Word Origin

C14: from Old Northern French, from Medieval Latin discantus, from Latin dis- 1 + cantus song; see chant
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

Word Origin and History for descant

n.

late 14c., from Old North French descant (Old French deschant), from Medieval Latin discantus "refrain, part-song," from Latin dis- "asunder, apart" (see dis-) + cantus "song" (see chant). Spelling was partly Latinized 16c. Originally "counterpoint."

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v.

mid-15c.; see descant (n.). Sense of "to comment at length" is first attested 1640s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper