monody

[mon-uh-dee]

noun

plural

monodies 

1. a Greek ode sung by a single voice, as in a tragedy; lament.

2. a poem in which the poet or speaker laments another's death; threnody.

3. Music.

   1. a style of composition in which one part or melody predominates; homophony, as distinguished from polyphony.

   2. a piece in this style.

   3. monophony.

monody

/ ˈmɒnədɪ, mɒˈnɒdɪk /

noun

1. (in Greek tragedy) an ode sung by a single actor

2. any poem of lament for someone's death

3. music a style of composition consisting of a single vocal part, usually with accompaniment

Other Word Forms

• monodic adjective
• monodist noun
• monodically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of monody¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Late Latin monōdia, from Greek monōidía “a solo, monody,” equivalent to monōid(ós) “singing alone” + -ia noun suffix; mon-, ode ) -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of monody¹

C17: via Late Latin from Greek monōidia, from _mono- + aeidein to sing

Example Sentences

Monteverdi’s writing in the “Vespers” is organized around a dazzling array of what, for him, were old and new forms: hymn, Gregorian chant, polyphony, operatic monody, arioso and embellished virtuoso singing.

From New York Times

“The Wishing Tree,” a beautiful, seemingly slight nine-line monody, commemorates his laconic, generous mother—“I thought of her as the wishing tree that died / And saw it lifted, root and branch, to heaven.”

From The New Yorker

The Oriental monody seems to throw a spell over Rimsky-Korsakoff which spreads over all his works a sort of 'local colour,' underlined here by the chosen subjects.

From Project Gutenberg

She wrote, it is believed, at least nine books of odes, together with epithalamia, epigrams, elegies, and monodies.

From Project Gutenberg

He wrote a pathetic and not wholly forgotten monody on the death of his first wife, to which he could have added a new and poignant emphasis after his second marriage.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• elegy 
• hymn