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quodlibet

[ kwod-luh-bet ]
/ ˈkwɒd ləˌbɛt /
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noun
a subtle or elaborate argument or point of debate, usually on a theological or scholastic subject.
Music. a humorous composition consisting of two or more independent and harmonically complementary melodies, usually quotations of well-known tunes, played or sung together, usually to different texts, in a polyphonic arrangement.
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Origin of quodlibet

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Medieval Latin noun quodlibētum “whatever subject you like,” from Latin indefinite pronoun and adjective quod libet “what(ever) pleases, as you please”

OTHER WORDS FROM quodlibet

quod·li·bet·ic, quod·li·bet·i·cal, adjectivequod·li·bet·i·cl·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use quodlibet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for quodlibet

quodlibet
/ (ˈkwɒdlɪˌbɛt) /

noun
a light piece of music based on two or more popular tunes
a subtle argument, esp one prepared as an exercise on a theological topic

Derived forms of quodlibet

quodlibetical, adjectivequodlibetically, adverb

Word Origin for quodlibet

C14: from Latin, from quod what + libet pleases, that is, whatever you like
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
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