descanting
present participle of descant
• decantings
Source: Wiktionary
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
20 April 2025
(noun) food mixtures either arranged on a plate or tossed and served with a moist dressing; usually consisting of or including greens
The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.
