musica ficta

American  

[myoo-zi-kuh fik-tuh, moo-si-kah fik-tah] / ˈmju zɪ kə ˈfɪk tə, ˈmu sɪˌkɑ ˈfɪk tɑ /

Latin musica falsa

noun

1. the use of chromatically altered tones in the contrapuntal music of the 10th to the 16th centuries.

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Etymology

Origin of musica ficta

First recorded in 1795–1805, musica ficta is from Medieval Latin mūsica ficta, literally, “fashioned music”