barcarole

or bar·ca·rolle

[ bahr-kuh-rohl ]

noun

1. a boating song of the Venetian gondoliers.
2. a piece of music composed in the style of such songs.

barcarole

/ ˌbɑːkəˈrəʊl; -ˌrɒl; ˈbɑːkəˌrəʊl /

noun

1. a Venetian boat song in a time of six or twelve quaver beats to the bar
2. an instrumental composition resembling this

Word History and Origins

Origin of barcarole¹

1605–15; < Venetian barcarola boatman's song, feminine of barcarolo, equivalent to barcar- (< Late Latin barcārius boatman; bark ³, -ary ) + -olo (≪ Latin -eolus )

Word History and Origins

Origin of barcarole¹

C18: from French, from Italian barcarola , from barcaruolo boatman, from barca boat; see barque

Example Sentences

The barcarole that sentimentally takes Pierrot home back to Bergamo, with a moonbeam for a rudder and a water lily for a boat, gets its sinister, otherworldly wind for its sails from the full quintet up to its eerie tricks.

From Los Angeles Times

Halvorson’s therapy, which involves a slide projector, stock photographs and the barcarole from "The Tales of Hoffman," looks pretty silly in action.

From Los Angeles Times

The new work felt like a barcarole for our precariously warming seas.

From Los Angeles Times

Although Pilli Bebek’s music can broadly be defined as alternative Anatolian rock, their style is also influenced by barcarole, Ottoman classical music, heavy metal and Latin music.

From The Guardian

Long-held but shifting sonorities here suggest a barcarole as a voyage to the underworld.

From Los Angeles Times