Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

world music

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.37 in modern English

Syllables: world -mu-sic
IPA

18

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Traditional music, as opposed to popular music or classical music.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Music that combines elements from traditional styles from the non-Western world along with modern, popular elements, in order to create something marketed towards Western audiences.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"While it can be considered a metagenre, world music is really more of a marketing category."

Etymology

Attributed to ethnomusicologist Robert E. Brown (1960s), later primarily used as a marketing term.

Usage

Inflected Forms

world musics (plural)

Phrases

world literature

Frequently Paired Words

world literature

Questions

What does world music mean?: Traditional music, as opposed to popular music or classical music.
Where does world music come from?: Attributed to ethnomusicologist Robert E. Brown (1960s), later primarily used as a marketing term.

How to pronounce world music

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “world music”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “world music”.
Repeat and practice — Say “world music” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.