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alap

British  
/ əˈlɑːp /

noun

  1. Indian vocal music without words

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Mr. Dutt’s exquisitely songlike phrasing in the introductory alap from Ram Narayan’s “Raga Mishra Bhairavi,” played as an encore, ended the evening and the engagement with a welcome note of tranquillity.

From New York Times • Oct. 11, 2010

When they played the gansa, Iwaginan took the alap and kinamayan31 and he gave them to Aponībolinayen and Agyokan.

From Traditions of the Tinguian: a Study in Philippine Folk-Lore by Cole, Fay-Cooper

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.