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View synonyms for organum

organum

[ awr-guh-nuhm ]

noun

, plural or·ga·na [awr, -g, uh, -n, uh], or·ga·nums.
  1. an organon.
  2. Music.
    1. the doubling, or simultaneous singing, of a melody at an interval of either a fourth, a fifth, or an octave.
    2. the second part in such singing.


organum

/ ˈɔːɡənəm /

noun

  1. a form of polyphonic music originating in the ninth century, consisting of a plainsong melody with parts added at the fourth and fifth
  2. a variant of organon
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of organum1

From Latin, dating back to 1605–15; organ
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Word History and Origins

Origin of organum1

C17: via Latin from Greek; see organ
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Example Sentences

Bacon never uses the word in its modern meaning in English in print, and he uses factum three or perhaps four times in print, but the crucial text, the Novum organum of 1620, was not translated into English in time to have any influence.

The trailblazer of this group was called Leonin, and by the standards of the early twelfth century he was both prolific and admired, regularly combining plainsong chant melodies with a second voice, a technique now known as organum duplum.

Organum became very popular across Europe - and, dare I say it, formulaic to the point of tedium.

But the heady excitement of turning one tune into two at no extra cost had another spin-off: organum where one voice stood still instead.

If we imagine parallel organum as a train track winding across the landscape, the drone style looked more like a graph in which one line moves and the other stays constant.

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organ screenorgan whistle