rhapsody English · revision 1227

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɹæpsədi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|rhapsodia]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|grc|ῥαψῳδία|tr=rhapsōidía|t=recitation of epic poetry]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from ''rhapsōidós'' “reciter of epic poems”,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[af|grc|ῥάπτω|ᾠδή|tr1=rháptō|tr2=ōidḗ|t1=to sew, stitch|t2=song]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) so literally “one who stitches songs together”.^(Etymonline) Etymonline gives French ''rhapsodie'' as the immediate source.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[ode]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An epic poem, or a part of one suitable for reciting at one sitting (1542).^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 16th and 17th centuries the word also meant a miscellaneous collection or confused jumble,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) and a rambling literary work.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) From 1639 it meant an exalted or excessively enthusiastic outpouring of feeling,^(OED 1989) and from about 1880 a musical composition of free form and impassioned character.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1542 – an epic poem or part of one.^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1574 – a medley or confused mass.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1602 – a rambling literary work.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1639 – an enthusiastic outpouring of feeling.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1880 – a free-form musical composition.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An expression of intense, often excessive [[enthusiasm]] in speech or writing.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A state of great joy; [[ecstasy]] or [[rapture]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A piece of [[music]] of irregular form that suggests [[improvisation]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # An ancient Greek [[epic]] poem, or a part of one suitable for reciting at one time.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(archaic)'' A miscellaneous collection; a jumble.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[rhapsodize]]

+ * [[rhapsodic]]

+ * [[rhapsodist]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rhapsode]]

+ * [[ode]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}