Etymologically
Log in

melodic

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 1 November 2026 at 02:59. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • UK: /mɪˈlɒd.ɪk/[1]
  • US: /məˈlɑ.ɾɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French mélodique,[2][3][4] a word recorded in French from 1600, at first spelled melodic,[2] from Late Latin melōdicus,[3][5][6] from Ancient Greek μελῳδικός (melōidikós),[2][6][7] from μελῳδία (melōidía, “a singing, a choral song, a tune”),[7][6][3] the source of melody.[6][3] Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com derive the English word directly from Late Latin.[7][8] The Greek noun is a compound of μέλος (mélos, “song; limb”) and a word for song that is the source of ode.[6][3] The OED compares Italian melodico (14th century) and German melodisch (18th century), and the earlier English melodical.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Etymonline dates the word to 1818 in the sense "melodious".[3] The OED's first record is from 1823, in the New Monthly Magazine, in the sense "of or relating to melody", especially as opposed to harmony;[2] Etymonline dates that sense to 1823 as well,[3] and Dictionary.com dates the word to 1815–25.[8]

Semantic evolution

The older English adjective melodical, "tuneful, melodious", is recorded from 1596.[2][3] Melodic was used at first in the technical sense, of the melody of a piece as distinct from its harmony.[2][3] The OED's first record of the sense "tuneful, having a strong melody" is from 1871, in George Eliot's Middlemarch, and it was extended to anything pleasing to the senses.[2] In music theory the melodic minor scale, with a raised sixth and seventh going up and the natural minor sixth and seventh coming down, is recorded from 1889, in Prout's Harmony.[2][5] From 1938 the word also described an instrument that plays the melody rather than chords.[2]

Timeline

  • 1818 – melodious, tuneful.[3] The OED's first record of this sense is from 1871, in George Eliot's Middlemarch.[2]
  • 1823 – of or relating to melody, as distinct from harmony.[2][3]
  • 1889 – melodic minor, a form of the minor scale.[2]
  • 1938 – of an instrument, playing the melody rather than chords.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of, relating to, or consisting of melody: The melodic line passes from the violins to the flutes.[7][9][2]
  2. Having a pleasant, clear tune; tuneful or melodious: The band's new album is more melodic than their last.[9][2][7]
  3. Relating to the part of a piece of music that carries the tune.[9]
  4. Of an instrument, used to play the melody, especially one that cannot play chords.[2]
  5. melodic minor: a minor scale with a major sixth and seventh going up and a minor sixth and seventh coming down.[2][5]

Word family

  • melodically
  • nonmelodic
  • unmelodic
  • melodic minor scale

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins