quodlibet

American  

[kwod-luh-bet] / ˈkwɒd ləˌbɛt /

noun

1. a subtle or elaborate argument or point of debate, usually on a theological or scholastic subject.

2. Music. a humorous composition consisting of two or more independent and harmonically complementary melodies, usually quotations of well-known tunes, played or sung together, usually to different texts, in a polyphonic arrangement.

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quodlibet British  

/ ˈkwɒdlɪˌbɛt /

noun

1. a light piece of music based on two or more popular tunes

2. a subtle argument, esp one prepared as an exercise on a theological topic

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Other Word Forms

• quodlibetic adjective
• quodlibetical adjective
• quodlibetically adverb
• quodlibeticlly adverb

Etymology

Origin of quodlibet

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Medieval Latin noun quodlibētum “whatever subject you like,” from Latin indefinite pronoun and adjective quod libet “what(ever) pleases, as you please”

Example Sentences

Maybe it was the night’s full moon, but what are the odds that this concerto, which not only quotes a spiritual, ends with the obscure Baroque form of a quodlibet?

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2017

"I would have you to know that the common parish fool should be whipt, were he to attempt to pass pun or quodlibet as a genuine jest, even amongst ticket-porters and hackney chairmen."

From Peveril of the Peak by Scott, Walter, Sir

Zodiaci, 5. quodlibet graduum, XXX, quorum nomina sunt ♈ Aries ♉ Taurus, ♊ Gemini, ♋ Cancer, ♌ Leo, ♍ Virgo, ♎ Libra, ♏ Scorpius, ♐ Sagittarius, ♑ Capricorn, ♒ Aquarius, ♓ Pisces.

From The Orbis Pictus by Hoole, Charles

Item quodlibet hamelletum dabit domino sextam porcionem ad communem finem bis per annum ad curiam visus franciplegii.

From Villainage in England Essays in English Mediaeval History by Vinogradoff, Paul

Thuman, quorum quodlibet decies millies facit: vnum autem Tagar pondus est asini.

From The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 09 Asia, Part II by Hakluyt, Richard