- a short poem, usually a love poem, which can be set to music
- a part song, esp. an often contrapuntal song popular in the 15th, 16th, and 17th cent.
Origin of madrigal
Italian madrigale from uncertain or unknown; perhapsmadrigal
mad·ri·galWebster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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madrigal
noun
- a. A song for two or three unaccompanied voices, developed in Italy in the late 1200s and early 1300s.b. A short poem, often about love, suitable for being set to music.
- a. A polyphonic song using a vernacular text and written for four to six voices, developed in Italy in the 16th century and popular in England in the 1500s and early 1600s.b. A part song.
Origin of madrigal
Italian madrigale probably from dialectal madregal simple from Late Latin mātrīcālis invented, original from Latin of the womb from mātrīx mātrīc- womb from māter mātr- mother ; see mater .Related Forms:
- mad′ri·gal·ist
noun
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"Madrigal." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Madrigal.
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Madrigal. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Madrigal
Noun
(plural madrigals)
- (music) a song for a small number of unaccompanied voices; from 13th century Italy
- (music) a polyphonic song for about six voices, from 16th century Italy
- a short poem, often pastoral, and suitable to be set to music
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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MLA Style
"Madrigal." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Madrigal.
APA Style
Madrigal. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Madrigal
