mordent
[
mawr
-dnt]
/ˈmɔr dnt/
noun
,
Music.
1.
a melodic embellishment consisting of a rapid alternation of a principal tone with the tone a half or a whole step below it, called
single
or
short
when the auxiliary tone occurs once and
double
or
long
when this occurs twice or more.
2.
inverted mordent
.
Also,
mordant
.
Origin
1800-10;
<
German
<
Italian
mordente
biting <
Latin
mordent-,
stem of
mordēns,
present participle of
mordēre
to bite; see
-ent
British Dictionary definitions for
mordent
mordent
/
ˈmɔːd
ə
nt
/
noun
1.
(
music
) a melodic ornament consisting of the rapid alternation of a note with a note one degree lower than it
Also called
lower mordent
Word Origin
C19: from German, from Italian
mordente,
from
mordere
to bite