ragtime

¹

[ rag-tahym ]

noun

, Music.

1. rhythm in which the accompaniment is strict two-four time and the melody, with improvised embellishments, is in steady syncopation.
2. a style of American music having this rhythm, popular from about 1890 to 1915.

Ragtime

²

[ rag-tahym ]

noun

1. a novel (1975) by E. L. Doctorow.

ragtime

/ ˈræɡˌtaɪm /

noun

1. a style of jazz piano music, developed by Scott Joplin around 1900, having a two-four rhythm base and a syncopated melody

ragtime

1. A style of early jazz music written largely for the piano in the early twentieth century, characterized by jaunty rhythms and a whimsical mood.

Notes

Scott Joplin was a famous composer and performer of ragtime.

Other Words From

• ragtimey adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ragtime¹

1895–1900; probably rag(ged) + time

Word History and Origins

Origin of ragtime¹

C20: probably from ragged + time

Example Sentences

The “tunes” Andres makes use of in his concerto come from American folk songs, parlor songs, blues and ragtime, and they go through colorful repetitive transformations, embellished by Diehl’s improvisations.

From Los Angeles Times

That joy comes via the story of jazz and the works of Jelly Roll Morton, a ragtime pianist who said he invented the genre in 1902.

From New York Times

Although he was Canadian, his music was steeped in Americana: in blues, country, ragtime, Cajun music, parlor songs, Appalachian ballads, gospel, circus bands, vaudeville and his Indigenous heritage.

From New York Times

“While his contemporaries in bluegrass were experimenting in swing in the 1940s and ’50s, Sprung was expanding the acceptable banjo repertoire to include — in addition to swing — ragtime, pop and classical styles as well.”

From New York Times

Lives Lived: The pianist Max Morath found his calling in a fascination with ragtime.

From New York Times

Related Words

• melody
• opera
• piece
• rap
• rock
• singing
• soul
• tune