passacaglia

pas·sa·ca·glia

 (pä′sə-käl′yə, păs′ə-kăl′yə)

n.

1. A Spanish dance in 3/4 time.

2. The music for this dance.

---

[Italian, From Spanish pasacalle : pasar, to pass, step; see pase + calle, street (from Latin callis, call-, path).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

passacaglia

(ˌpæsəˈkɑːljə)

n

1. (Dancing) an old Spanish dance in slow triple time

2. (Music, other) a slow instrumental piece characterized by a series of variations on a particular theme played over a repeated bass part. See also chaconne¹

[C17: earlier passacalle, from Spanish pasacalle street dance, from paso step + calle street; the ending -alle was changed to -aglia to suggest an Italian origin]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pas•sa•ca•glia

(ˌpɑ səˈkɑl yə, ˌpæs əˈkæl-)

n., pl. -glias.

1. a slow, dignified dance of Spanish origin.

2. the music for this dance, based on an ostinato figure.

3. a musical form based on continuous variations over a ground bass.

[1650–60; pseudo-Italian sp. of earlier passacalle < Sp pasacalle literally, step (i.e., dance) in the street =pasar to step, pace¹ + calle street (< Latin callem, acc. of callis path)]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Translations

pasacalle

passacaille