part song

American  

noun

1. a song with parts for several voices, especially one meant to be sung without accompaniment.

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part song British  

noun

1. a song composed in harmonized parts

2. (in more technical usage) a piece of homophonic choral music in which the topmost part carries the melody

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Other Word Forms

• part singing noun

Etymology

Origin of part song

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

There is a ten-minute-long “Amazing Grace,” part song, part sermon, that could come only from someone steeped in the tradition of her father’s Delta whooping.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 4, 2016

Back then "glee" referred to a specific form of unaccompanied English part song - singing with two or more voice parts, with one part carrying the melody - and were all male.

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2010

The three pieces of music required for this play are as follows: "The Sleep of the Child Jesus" part song for mixed voices by F.A.

From Why the Chimes Rang: A Play in One Act by McFadden, Elizabeth Apthorp

He went over to the piano and they sang a part song, "Oh, who will o'er the downs so free?"

From The Manxman A Novel - 1895 by Caine, Hall, Sir

What we've got to do," said Lottie Lowman, "is to learn our part song, and practise it for all we're worth.

From The Girls of St. Cyprian's A Tale of School Life by Brazil, Angela