Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cadenza

/kəˈdɛnzə/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.08 in modern English

Syllables: ca-den-za
IPA: /kəˈdɛnzə/

19

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A part of a piece of music, such as a concerto, that is very decorative and is played by a single musician.

verb

To become agitated or excited.

Slang

Example Sentences

"Yes, laugh, as I want to laugh for instance in the concert hall when the orchestra trundles to a stop and the virtuoso at his piano, hunched like a demented vet before the bared teeth of this enormous black beast of sound, lifts up deliquescent hands and prepares to plunge into the cadenza."

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian cadenza, from Latin cadentia. Doublet of cadence and chance.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: *ḱh₂d-, cadentia

Usage

Slang

Inflected Forms

cadenzas (plural) cadenze (plural) cadenzas (present, singular) cadenzaing (participle, present) cadenzaed (participle, past) cadenzaed (past)

Questions

How do you pronounce cadenza?: The recorded pronunciation is /kəˈdɛnzə/.
What does cadenza mean?: A part of a piece of music, such as a concerto, that is very decorative and is played by a single musician.
Where does cadenza come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce cadenza

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “cadenza”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/kəˈdɛnzə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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