coda

¹

[ koh-duh ]

noun

1. Music. a more or less independent passage, at the end of a composition, introduced to bring it to a satisfactory close.
2. Ballet. the concluding section of a ballet, especially the final part of a pas de deux.
3. a concluding section or part, especially one of a conventional form and serving as a summation of preceding themes, motifs, etc., as in a work of literature or drama.
4. anything that serves as a concluding part.
5. Phonetics. the segment of a syllable following the nucleus, as the d- sound in good. Compare core ¹( def 14 ), onset ( def 3 ).

CODA

²

[ koh-duh ]

abbreviation for

1. child of deaf adultadults: a hearing person with a deaf parent or parents.

coda

/ ˈkəʊdə /

noun

1. music the final, sometimes inessential, part of a musical structure
2. a concluding part of a literary work, esp a summary at the end of a novel of further developments in the lives of the characters

coda

1. An ending to a piece of music, standing outside the formal structure of the piece. Coda is the Italian word for “tail.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of coda¹

First recorded in 1745–55; from Italian, from Latin cauda “tail”; queue

Origin of coda²

First recorded in 1990–95

Word History and Origins

Origin of coda¹

C18: from Italian: tail, from Latin cauda

Example Sentences

The legal filing is a surprising coda to the musicians’ feud, but it also represents a rift between Drake and Universal - the label that has represented him for his entire career.

From BBC

Film and TV production company Legendary Entertainment has bought out the remaining 50% stake owned by Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group, signifying a coda to China’s once-lofty hopes of becoming a major player in Hollywood.

From Los Angeles Times

You might take this coda as a salute to mothers and sons, a comment on the squirrelly nature of fiction, or just a final mean trick in a series that delights in them.

From Los Angeles Times

In a grim coda, Hamas on Monday released a brief black-and-white video on the Telegram messaging app, showing each of the six hostages briefly identifying themselves, and signaled its intention to release longer footage.

From Los Angeles Times

A fitting coda to a childish slog of hero worship.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• afterword
• postscript
• summation