DESCANT

descant, discant

(noun) a decorative musical accompaniment (often improvised) added above a basic melody

descant

(verb) talk at great length about something of one’s interest

yodel, warble, descant

(verb) sing by changing register; sing by yodeling; “The Austrians were yodeling in the mountains”

descant

(verb) sing in descant

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

descant (plural descants)

A lengthy discourse on a subject.

(music) A counterpoint melody sung or played above the theme

Verb

descant (third-person singular simple present descants, present participle descanting, simple past and past participle descanted)

(intransitive) To discuss at length.

(intransitive) To sing or play a descant.

Anagrams

• dancest, decants, scanted, stanced

Source: Wiktionary

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Des"cant, n. Etym: [OF. descant, deschant, F. déchant, discant, LL. discantus, fr. L. dis + cantus singing, melody, fr. canere to sing. See Chant, and cf. Descant, v. i., Discant.]

1. (Mus.) (a) Originally, a double song; a melody or counterpoint sung above the plain song of the tenor; a variation of an air; a variation by ornament of the main subject or plain song. (b) The upper voice in part music. (c) The canto, cantus, or soprano voice; the treble. Grove. Twenty doctors expound one text twenty ways, as children make descant upon plain song. Tyndale. She [the nightingale] all night long her amorous descant sung. Milton.

Note: The term has also been used synonymously with counterpoint, or polyphony, which developed out of the French déchant, of the 12th century.

2. A discourse formed on its theme, like variations on a musical air; a comment or comments. Upon that simplest of themes how magnificent a descant! De Quincey.

Des*cant", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Descanted; p. pr. & vb. n. Descanting.] Etym: [From descant; n.; or directly fr. OF. descanter, deschanter; L. dis- + cantare to sing.]

1. To sing a variation or accomplishment.

2. To comment freely; to discourse with fullness and particularity; to discourse at large. A virtuous man should be pleased to find people descanting on his actions. Addison.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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