syncopated

[sing-kuh-pey-tid, sin-] /ˈsɪŋ kəˌpeɪ tɪd, ˈsɪn-/
adjective
1.
marked by syncopation:
syncopated rhythm.
2.
cut short; abbreviated.
Origin
1655-65; < Late Latin syncopāt(us) (see syncopate) + -ed2
Related forms
unsyncopated, adjective

syncopate

[sing-kuh-peyt, sin-] /ˈsɪŋ kəˌpeɪt, ˈsɪn-/
verb (used with object), syncopated, syncopating.
1.
Music.
  1. to place (the accents) on beats that are normally unaccented.
  2. to treat (a passage, piece, etc.) in this way.
2.
Grammar. to contract (a word) by omitting one or more sounds from the middle, as in reducing Gloucester to Gloster.
Origin
1595-1605; < Medieval Latin syncopātus (past participle of syncopāre to shorten by syncope). See syncope, -ate1
Related forms
syncopator, noun
Examples from the web for syncopated
  • The poetry is syncopated and agitated, spoken and read and chanted in equal measures.
  • The group brought the audience to its feet by underscoring the song's lyrics with syncopated vocal percussion.
  • His style was between the syncopated beat of ragtime and the syncopated improvisation of jazz.
  • The third variation is a heavily syncopated deconstruction of the main theme with a lumbering jazzy backbeat.
British Dictionary definitions for syncopated

syncopate

/ˈsɪŋkəˌpeɪt/
verb (transitive)
1.
(music) to modify or treat (a beat, rhythm, note, etc) by syncopation
2.
to shorten (a word) by omitting sounds or letters from the middle
Derived Forms
syncopator, noun
Word Origin
C17: from Medieval Latin syncopāre to omit a letter or syllable, from Late Latin syncopasyncope
Word Origin and History for syncopated

syncopate

v.

c.1600, from Late Latin syncopatus, past participle of syncopare "to shorten," also "to faint away, to swoon," from Late Latin syncope (see syncope). Originally "to shorten words by omitting syllables or letters in the middle;" musical sense is from 1660s. Related: Syncopated; syncopating.