Melody

Pronunciation

• GenAm IPA: /ˈmÉ›lÉ™di/
• RP IPA: /ˈmelÉ™di/

Origin

Middle English melodie, from Old French melodie, from Latin melodia, from Ancient Greek μελῳδία (melōidiā, "singing, chanting"), from μέλος (mélos, "musical phrase") + ἀοιδή (aoidḗ, "song"), contracted form ᾠδή.

Full definition of melody

Noun

1. tune; sequence of notes that makes up a musical phrase
• 1954, Alexander Alderson, The Subtle Minotaur Chapter 1, Slowly she turned round and faced towards a neat white bungalow, set some way back from the path behind a low hedge of golden privet. No light showed, but someone there was playing the piano. The strange elusiveness of the soft, insistent melody seemed to draw her forward.

Synonyms

• (sequence of notes that makes up a musical phrase) tune

Derived terms

• melodic
• melodious
• melodium

Related terms

• melodrama