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leitmotif

[lahyt-moh-teef]
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noun
  1. a motif or theme associated throughout a music drama with a particular person, situation, or idea.
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Origin of leitmotif

1875–80; < German: leading motive
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

thoughtmotifpointtextquestionargumenttopicmatterstuffproblemlinesubjectcaseaffairheadthesisbusinesskeynotemotiveproposition

Examples from the Web for leitmotif

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • He will come back, murmured Chavvy, in concordance with her leitmotif.

    Twos and Threes

    G. B. Stern

  • It was what I had always called "Rosemary's leitmotif," expressed in perfume.

    The Brightener

    C. N. Williamson

  • "More work for the undertaker" should be the leitmotif of the evening's fun.

    Perfect Behavior

    Donald Ogden Stewart

  • Indeed, they recur again and again, like a Leitmotif in music, in everything he wrote.

  • In her direct and genuine nature there is a 'Leitmotif' of pure sweet melody that will enrich the life of its discoverer.

    Bee and Butterfly

    Lucy Foster Madison

British Dictionary definitions for leitmotif

leitmotif

leitmotiv

noun
  1. music a recurring short melodic phrase or theme used, esp in Wagnerian music dramas, to suggest a character, thing, etc
  2. an often repeated word, phrase, image, or theme in a literary work
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Word Origin

C19: from German leitmotiv leading motif
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 leitmotif

n.

1876, "a musical figure to which some definite meaning is attached," from German Leitmotiv, literally "lead motive," from leiten "to lead" (see lead (v.1)) + Motiv (see motive). A term associated with Wagnerian musical drama, though the thing itself is at least as old as Mozart. "The leitmotif must be characteristic of the person or thing it is intended to represent." ["Elson's Music Dictionary"]

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
leitmotif in Culture

leitmotif

[(leyet-moh-teef)]

A frequently recurring bit of melody, usually in opera, associated with a person, thing, or emotion; Leitmotiv is German for “leading theme.” The leitmotif may be heard in the instrumental or the vocal part.

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Note

Leitmotifs are particularly associated with the operas of Richard Wagner.

Note

Recurring themes or subjects in other forms of art or literature are sometimes also called leitmotifs.
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.