Picardy third

American

noun

Music.

a major third in the final tonic chord of a composition written in a minor key.

Picardy third British

noun

Also called: tierce de Picardie. music a major chord used in the final chord of a piece of music in the minor mode

"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

Etymology

Origin of Picardy third

Translation of French tierce de Picardy

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023