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PJ
abbreviation of pièce jointe or pièces jointes (French: Enc., enc., enclosure, enclosures - in a business letter)
Pjäs
(Swedish) play (for example, performed in a theatre) [entry corrected by Lars Hellvig]
Pjevanje na uho
(Dalmatia) meaning 'singing by ear', an important feature of true traditional klapa, where the singers perform freely, without notation. Only the prvi tenor (first tenor, the leader of the group), leads the melody and lyrics of the song. He begins the singing, after which the second voice, sekondo (second tenor), immediately joins in at a third below. The third voice bariton, daje ulja pismi ("gives oil to the song" - [synonym for the soul]), completes the triad. The fourth voice, bas or basso profondo (bass), defines the harmonic functions of tonic, dominant and subdominant. He challenges himself with low and strong singing (profondo). The song unfolds with the harmonious ringing of chords, as if all the singers were well-acquainted with the melody and lyrics of the song
(French) to post up (a poster), to cover (a wall) with posters
Place
(French f.) place, seat, room, space, fare (on a bus, train, etc.), square, position (of employment), space (for parking)
Place assise
(French f.) seat, place
Place au soleil
(French f.) place in the sun, opportunity of enjoying the good things of life
Placebo
(Latin, 'I will please', French m.) a medical expression for a remedy whose effectiveness relies solely on a belief that it will do good, or prescribed to please rather than cure the patient
(Latin) the Vespers in the Office for the Dead
Place debout
(French f.) standing-room
Placement
technique of singing guided by sensations of vibrations in the face, behind the teeth, in the nose, etc. i.e. "forward placement"
Place non numérotée
(French f.) unnumbered seat
Place of articulation
the point in the oral cavity where the position of speech organs (lips, teeth, tongue, etc.) is most important for a particular sound
Places contiguës
(French f. pl.) adjacent seats
Placet
(Latin) it pleases (me)
the formula using in giving a vote of assent in university and ecclesiastical conclaves, or, more generally, a vote or expression of assent
(German f.) plagal cadence (more specifically I-IV-I) [entry clarified by Michael Zapf]
plagalisch
(German) plagal
Plagal mode
the notes of a plagal mode lying on either side of the final, beginning on the dominant (a fourth below the keynote of the authentic church mode) and then up to its octave
the octave is divided into two parts, one containing five notes - from the final (key-note) to the dominant above, the other containing four notes - from the dominant to the final above. When the notes of a melody extend from the final to its octave, the division will be at the dominant, and the lower part will consist of five notes and upper part of four. This constitutes the authentic mode. If the same series of notes is arranged so as to extend from the dominant to its octave, the division at the final will reverse the position of the two parts, that is the lower part to the final will be of four notes, the upper of five. This constitutes the plagal mode
(German m.) plagal cadence (more specifically IV-I) [entry clarified by Michael Zapf]
Plage
(French f.) the beach, a Continental (seaside) resort, area
Plagiario
(Italian) a plagarism, ideas borrowed or imitated from the works of other composers
Plagiarism
accidental or intentional passing off of another person's work (thoughts, writing, etc.) as one's own [entry corrected by Bruce L. Bush]
Plagiarist
someone who pass off another's work (thoughts, writing, etc.) as their own
plagiarize
to pass off another's work (thoughts, writing, etc.) as one's own
Plagiarizer
someone who pass off another's work (thoughts, writing, etc.) as their own
Plagiat
(French m., German n.) plagarism, ideas borrowed or imitated from the works of other composers
Plagio
(Italian m., Spanish m.) plagarism, ideas borrowed or imitated from the works of other composers
Plagis
the system of dividing the chant repertory into eight modes had its origins in the eight echoi of the Byzantine chant of the Eastern Church. Various terminologies have been used associated with this 'eight-mode system'. While the most widely used is that employed in the modern official chant books of the Catholic Church, in which the modes are simply numbered 1-8 in Roman numerals, other nomenclature, based upon different mediæval theorists, is also encountered. One of these, familiar to Hucbald (c. 840-930), to the ninth-century authors of the treatises Musica Enchiriadis and Scolica Enchiriadis, and to the author of the ninth- or tenth-century Commemoratio Brevis de Tonis et Psalmis Modulandis, is first found in a late eighth- or early ninth-century tonary from S. Riquier (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, lat. 13159)
the late eighth- or early ninth-century tonary from S. Riquier (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, lat. 13159) lists four modes: protus, deuterus, tritus and tetrardus, respectively, the Greek words for first (D is the finalis), second (E is the finalis), third (F is the finalis) and fourth (G is the finalis), and subdivides each of the four into two, the first of each pair being designated authentus (authentic) and the second plagis (plagal):
number
Greek name
Boethian name
as in Alia musica
the notes of the mode reciting tone in red finalis in blue
1.
protus authentus
phrygian
dorian
D E F G a b c d
2.
protus plagis
hypodorian
hypodorian
A B C D E F G a
3.
deuterus authentus
dorian
phrygian
E F G a b c d e
4.
deuterus plagis
mixolydian
hypophrygian
B C D E F G a b
5.
tritus authentus
hypolydian
lydian
F G a b c d e f
6.
tritus plagis
lydian
hypolydian
C D E F G a b c
7.
tetrardus authentus
hypophyrigian
mixolydian
G a b c d e f g
8.
tetrardus plagis
hypomixolydian
D E F G a b c d
hypermixolydian
the compass of a plagal mode is generally a fourth lower than the corresponding authentic mode. Today we identify the hypomixolydian as the eighth mode, whose finalis is D, a fourth lower than that of the mixolydian. However, originally the eighth mode was the hypermixolydian, whose pitch duplicates that of the hypodorian but in a higher octave, as specified by Ramis de Pareja (1482) and other commentators of the period
(from the Latin, cantus planus) also 'plain-chant', 'plainsong', plain-song', names given to the most ancient species of Church music in the Western (Orthodox Catholic) Church. This is the same type of Christian chant that was referred to by the early medieval Anglo-Saxon Council of Cloveshoo (A.D. 803), when it put forth an important decree: "Let simple and holy melodies, according to the custom of the Church, be scrupulously followed." It is characterised by being unaccompanied, sung in unison and in free rhythm according to the accentuation of the words
(using solo chant) the earliest musical settings of the mass were plainchant (one voice part, in free rhythm) melodies. From the ninth to the sixteenth centuries, some plainchants were expanded by means of tropes; i.e., the grafting of new music and new texts onto the original chants
(using polyphony) organum, the simultaneous combination of more than one melody, was developed in about the ninth century. The Winchester Troper, an eleventh-century manuscript, contains 12 Kyries and 8 Glorias in two-part organum, but the notation cannot be deciphered. In the 12th- and 13th-centuries further developments of organum took place in the Magnum Liber Organi. In about 1300, polyphonic cycles of the Ordinary (having two or more sections musically related to one another) appeared. The French composer Guillaume de Machaut (c.1300-1377) wrote one of the first complete Ordinary cycles, the Messe de Notre Dame. Although Machaut's mass is not the earliest surviving mass cycle (there are two which predate it), it is the earliest by a single composer and indeed the earliest to display such a high degree of unity. While the chants used as cantus firmus do vary, opening gestures and motivic figures are used to confirm the cyclical nature of the work. By the fourteenth century, secular melodies manifested itself in Ordinary settings, which by this time were rarely based on plainsong melodies
a large group of historic cultural sites in Laos containing thousands of stone jars, which lie scattered throughout the Xieng Khouang plain in the Lao Highlands at the northern end of the Annamese Cordillera, the principal mountain range of Indochina
Plain of Jars from which this information has been taken
Plainsong
(English, German m.) see 'plainchant'
Plainsong and Medieval Music Society
founded in 1888 the PMMS has played an invaluable part in the study and promulgation of liturgical chant and medieval polyphony. Their publications are used in many cathedrals around the world
(French f., literally 'joke') from the eighteenth century, a light , often amusing, drawing-room piece, a term synonymous with amusement and divertissement
Plaisantin
(French m.) joker
Plaisir
(French m.) pleasure
Plan
(French m.) map, plane (surface), plan
plan (m.), plane (f.)
(French) flat
Planabweichung
(German f.) budget variance
Plancha
(Spanish f.) plate
Planche
(Danish, French f.) plate (illustration), plank, board (for example, as in floor board), bed (for vegetables, etc.)
(French f., literally 'little plank') a heart-shaped board supported by two castors and a pencil-point, which traces out letters and words when one or more persons rest their fingers lightly upon it. The planchette was invented in about 1855, and has been used in the investigation of psychical phenomena
Planchette ronflante
(French f.) or rhombe, thunder stick, bull roarer
Plancton
(French m.) plankton
Planctus
(Latin, literally 'lament', 'plaint') a popular Medieval lament, sung in Latin or in the vernacular, that used religious and secular subjects
Plan d'eau
(French m.) an expanse of water
Plane
a tool for shaping wood. Planes are used to flatten, reduce the thickness of, and impart a smooth surface to a rough piece of lumber or timber. Planing is used to produce horizontal, vertical, or inclined flat surfaces on workpieces usually too large for shaping. Special types of planes are designed to cut joints or decorative mouldings.
Plane (tool) from which this extract has been taken
planer
(French) to glide
planer sur
(French) to hang over (a person) (danger, etc.)
Planète
(French f.) planet
Planeur
(French m.) glider (aircraft)
Planh
(Provençal) plaint
Planiers
an anglicised version of the German verb planieren, here meaning to size printing paper. From the seventeenth century, German printers had commonly used unsized or lightly sized (slack-sized) papers as these were easier to moisten and therefore to print. The first operation carried out by a German bookbinder was to size the printed sheets, thus adding strength and enabling them to be annotated with ink
planifier
(French) to plan
Planification
(French f.) planning
Planing
also called "parallelism", is a technique in which harmonic interval relationships between notes are kept the same in relation to the melodic line. In chromatic planing the harmonic intervals are exact from one voicing to the next, while in diatonic planing, the harmonic intervals are not chromatically exact from one voicing to the next but diatonically exact. All of the notes used to harmonise the melody are diatonic to the chord
a printmaking process in which the printing and non-printing surface rests on the same flat plane that is not cut or incised by any means. Lithographs fall into this category
(French) to prepare the ground for ... (figurative), to pave the ground for ... (figurative)
Plantin
the Plantin Press at Antwerp was one of the focal centres of the fine printed book in the sixteenth century. Christophe Plantin (ca 1520 - 1589) of Touraine (called Christoffel Plantijn in Dutch), trained as a bookbinder, fled from Paris, where at least one printer had recently been burned at the stake for heresy, for Antwerp, where he bound books became a citizen, and by 1555 began to print books, at first for distribution by other publishers. The city was already an established center of printing woodcuts, engravings and books. Plantin took on an assistant, Jan Moretus (Moerentorf), who read Latin and Greek, could write correspondence in several modern languages, became Plantin's business manager, son-in-law and eventually his successor in the Plantin printing press. For over two hundred years the Plantin press had a monopoly, granted by Rome, for the printing of liturgical formularies, yet in 1562, suspected of heresy, Plantin fled to France for two years. At an auction of his press, friends bought up his equipment on his behalf
Plantin Press from which this extract has been taken
a region of the cerebral cortex that extends posteriorly from the primary auditory cortex. It is involved in processing of auditory representations of language
Planxty
(derived from planctus) an Irish or Welsh melody for the harp, sometimes of a mournful character
Plaque
(French f.) a decorative tablet or plate, designed to be hung as an ornament on the wall or to be inserted into a piece of furniture, often bearing a commemorative inscription
plaqué
(French, literally 'laid down') an instruction to play all the notes of a chord together, not arpeggiated or spread
(French) to strike at once (when speaking of chords, i.e. not arpeggiated)
Plaque tournantes
see 'disc valve'
Plaquette
(French f.) in art, an ornamental tablet cast in low relief in bronze or in lead
Plastefolie
(German f.) plastic film
Plastic arts
those visual arts that involve the use of materials that can be moulded or modulated in some way, often in three dimensions. Examples are clay, paint and plaster. The plastic arts may refer to: architecture, ceramics, glass art, land art, metalworking, mosaic, paper art, the use of plastics within the arts or as an artform itself, sculpture, textile art, and woodworking
Plastic arts from which this extract has been taken
Plastikfolie
(German f.) plastic film
Plastron
(French) a metal breastplate or the fur front of the sideless surcoat worn by medieval ladies
(French) the starched front of a dress-shirt, a separate starched front worn to simulate a dress-shirt, a piece of material inserted to fill a large neck-open in a woman's dress, a 'bib'-front
Plat
(French m.) flat (of the hand)
plat (m.), plate (f.)
(French) flat
Plat à emporter
(French m.) take-away
Platagh
(ancient Greece) an invention of Archytas, a child's rattle
Platagwgion
(ancient Greece) an invention of Archytas, a child's rattle
Platane
(French m.) plane(-tree)
Plat du jour
(French m.) speciality of the day (a dish recommended by the proprietor of a restaurant on a certain day)
Plate
in printing, a flat substrate, usually of metal, that holds an image that can be printed. Plates can vary in thickness so they can be rigid as used in most intaglio processes, or thin and flexible as in lithography. Intaglio plates are highly polished before use while plates for lithography must have a grain ground into them to mimic the quality of a litho-stone
a piece of tableware from which food is served or eaten, plato (Spanish m.)
a piece of silverware, vajilla de plata (Spanish f.)
a thin piece of metal, chapa (Spanish f.)
an illustration or picture in a book, lámina (Spanish f.)
to cover with metal, chapear (Spanish)
Platea
(Spanish f.) stalls (seat in a theatre, cinema, etc.), pit of a theatre
Plateau
(French m.) plate, cup, cuscinetto (Italian m.), Deckel (German m.)
(French m.) tray, turntable (gramophone), pan (balance)
Plateau (s.), Plateaux (pl.)
(French m.) plate of the cymbals
Plateau de fromages
(French m.) cheeseboard
Plateau-repas
(French m.) tray meal
Plate-bande
(French f.) flower-bed
Plate bells
or bell plates, campane in lastra di metallo (Italian), Plattenglocken (German), cloches-plaques (French), campanas del platillo (Spanish)
designed to produce deep bell-like sounds, plate bells are individual sheets or rods of solid metal each designed to sound a particular note when struck with a mallet
or PTH, a plated hole in a printed circuit board (PCB) used as an interconnection between the top and bottom sides or the inner layers of a PCB. PTH is intended to mount component leads in through hole technology
Plate-forme
(French f.) platform
Plate mark
an embossment surrounding a printed image, caused by the difference in height between the press bed and the printing plate under a single sheet of paper. It can be found on intaglio prints that were hand pulled from small plates. Commercial presses that utilised impression cylinders with a number of images on them did not create plate marks. As images are cut apart from large printed sheets no plate markings will be evident. Sometimes embossing was placed around an image after it was printed to create the illusion of an intaglio print (false intaglio)
Platen press
a simple press where a printing plate or letterpress form is placed on the press bed and locked in position. Then grippers move single sheets of paper from the feeding stack to the heavy metal platen. Rollers apply ink to the plate on the press bed and then the bed and the platen are pressed together like a clamshell transferring the image onto the paper. When the platen and the bed spread apart, grippers remove the paper and place it in a tray
Plate number
a number that may be mistaken for a catalog number, usually found at the bottom of the first page of music of a publication, or at the beginning of each signature, which identifies the original plate(s)
Platerspiel
(German n.) or Blaterpfeife, bladder pipe [entry provided by Michael Zapf]
Plates
the back and belly of a string instrument soundbox
Plate tone
the tonal qualities of an intaglio image that are printed not from its incised lines, but from unwiped ink lying on the plate's surface. Just prior to printing, the entire surface of an intaglio plate is covered with ink. If it is to be hand wiped as in fine art printing, rags or cheesecloth are employed to remove the excess ink from this surface. But this method of hand wiping cannot remove all the ink leaving behind a very thin film. Sometimes ink is purposefully pulled out of the incised lines while hand wiping to create unique tonal effects (retroussage). This provides each impression with its own individual look. In most commercial printing methods this excess ink us removed with the aid of a mechanical blade that wipes the surface completely clean. This speeds up the printing process and creates uniform prints
Plate tracery
window tracery in which the designs have been carved from a flat plate of stone rather than constructed from bars, characteristic of early Gothic
Platillo (s.), Platillos (pl.)
(Spanish m.) cymbal(s), cymbale (French)
Platillo chino (s.), Platillos chinos (pl.)
(Spanish m.) Chinese cymbal(s)
Platine
(French m.) platinum
Platine
(French f.) turntable (gramophone)
Platinotype
also called 'platinum print', a process patented in England by William Willis in 1873, based on the iron salt chemistry of cyanotypes. As the iron salts are developed out of the emulsion, they are replaced by platinum added to the wash solution. This yields a matte finish with very subtle gradations of silver. A sepia toned version was later patented in 1878. These are some of the most durable of all photographs for they are not prone to fading. Almost half of the prints made by the great photographers at the turn of the century utilised this process
Platinplatte
(German f.) a platinum record (a special award given for outstanding sales of a record or CD)
Plato
(Spanish m.) plate (circular in shape)
Plato and neo-Platonism
the Renaissance revival of Platonism and neo-Platonism was one of the characteristic intellectual features of the Renaissance. In fields ranging from literature (Castiglione and Ronsard) to science (Bruno and Galileo) it exerted a great influence in all parts of Europe from Portugal and Scotland to Hungary and Poland. The founder of one of the two most influential ancient schools of philosophy, Plato (428-348 BC) was born at Athens. A student of Socrates, he continued to develop his philosophy after the master's death in 399, and was in turn the teacher of Aristotle. Writing in a forceful and compelling style mostly cast in dialogue form, Plato was the author of some 30 works of lasting fame including the Republic, the Symposium, Phaedrus, Phaedo, Philebus, Timaeus, Theatetus and the Laws
Plato's philosophy has a distinctly other-worldly character, emphasizing the spiritual and non-material aspects of reality. In contrast with Aristotle, he gives knowledge and philosophy an intuitive and intellectual basis, not so much dependent upon sense experience as on inspiration and direct mental contact with the supra-sensible sources of knowledge. Thus empirical science does not have a central role in Plato's thought, though mathematics is consistently stressed as being an important gateway to the natural world. Such themes as poetic inspiration and harmony, as well as the rigorous analyses of central moral doctrines such as justice and happiness, have ensured that his works were widely read for many centuries. Rather unsystematic, with many internal contradictions and points left unresolved, his works were already subjected to critical analysis and amplification by his earliest followers. Plotinus, the greatest of his ancient disciples, systematized and added to what Plato had done, turning the tradition in an even more mystical and spiritual direction, while at the same time giving the philosophy a more coherent form. 'Neo-Platonism' resulted from these modifications and those of other ancient Platonists
Platonic
in common usage, intellectual rather than physical (attraction, love-affair, etc.)
of or pertaining to the philosophy or work of the Athenian philosopher Plato (428-348 BC)
Platonic forms
ideas, images and patterns, that exist in an intangible world of the abstract-but-perfect, but appear only as dim outlines (or shadows) in the imperfect physical world. Material creatures, who cannot see or enjoy the abstract quality of Beauty itself, can only enjoy specific manifestations of Beauty - such as sunsets or starlight or silvery snow. What the unenlightened do not realize is that it is not these specific objects they should admire, but the quality of beauty behind them - the form of absolute Beauty that is eternal and unchanging even as specific sunsets fade and yearly snowfalls melt away. Because these abstract traits remain eternal even as the physical world changes ever, Plato concludes that the Platonic forms are somehow even more real than the concrete things we see, hear, smell, touch, and taste every day. His breathtaking, nearly mystical conclusion is that the physical world is the illusion or dream, and the world of the mind is closer to the "real" world of the eternal forms
the philosophy of Plato or the name of other philosophical systems considered closely derived from it. In a narrower sense the term might indicate the doctrine of Platonic realism
Platos
(Spanish m. pl.) cymbals
Plâtre
(French m.) plaster, plaster cast (medicine)
plâtrer
(French) to plaster
Plättchen
(German n.) Zäpfchen (German n.), talon (French m.), bouton (French m.), nocetta (Italian f.), on a violin, etc., the small semicircular extension (called the button) of the back that provides extra gluing surface for the crucial neck joint, and is neglected when measuring the length of the back. Occasionally a half-circle of ebony surrounds the button, either to restore material lost in resetting the neck of an old instrument, or to imitate that effect
Plattenglocken
(German f. pl.) plate bell(s)
Plattenspieler
(German m.) record player
Platypus
see 'Kyma'
Platz
(German m.) place
Platzanweiser (m.), Platzanweiserin (f.)
(German) usher (m.), usherette (f.)
Plätze tauschen (mit), Die
(German) to change places (with), to swap places (with)
plaudernd
(German) chattering, babbling
Play
a specific piece of drama, usually enacted on a stage by diverse actors who often wear makeup or costumes to make them resemble the character they portray
to perform upon a musical instrument, sonare (Italian), spielen (German), jouer (French)
Playback
(Italian m., English, German n., French m.) the process of playing previously recorded materal, usually shortly after the material has been recorded, in order to determine its technical and/or musical qualities
Player
a performer of a musical instrument, sonatore (Italian), Spieler (German), exécutant (French)
Playera
a Gypsy seguidilla
Player piano
(English, Playerpiano (German n.)) a piano that plays music without the intervention of a live performer - the instrument is under the control of a rotating paper roll through which pressurized air passes to operate the mechanism
Playford Dances
in 1651 a music publisher called John Playford published The English Dancing Master. This was a book of brief instructions for a hundred odd such dances. The title was a joke because all the best dancing masters were French. This book proved to be a success and a second edition was issued the next year, and a third three years later; the later editions dropped the joke and were simply titled The Dancing Master. Successive editions were published until 1728, with John Playford's son, Henry taking over in 1684, and then John Young in 1709. Later editions ran to three volumes and over the years dances were added and dropped so that over a thousand distinct dances were published. Various other publishers got in on the act and books of country dances were published at frequent intervals through to about 1850. Throughout this time country dances were regarded as light relief from 'real dancing' and we get various letters and journals saying things like "and afterwards we set to and danced country dances till four in the morning" where it was clearly not worth going into details
in jazz, improvise, usually without chords changes or a pre-set form
Playfully
in a playful manner, scherzando (Italian), scherzoso (Italian), spasshaft (German), en badinant (French)
Playing inside
in jazz, improvisation that adheres strictly to the traditional approach that followed standard patterns of chordal progressions, as opposed to 'playing outside'
Playing range
the playing range of a musical instrument is the region of pitch in which it can play, i.e. upper and lower boundaries of the notes it can play. Its designated range is the set of notes the player should or can achieve while playing. All instruments have a designated range, and all pitched instruments have a playing range
written in Italy in about 1282 by the trouvère Adam de la Halle (Adam le Bossu) (c.1240-c.1285) this theatrical work with dialogue and songs set to what were probably popular songs is considered by some to be the forerunner of modern opera
Pleasantly
in a manner pleasing to the mind, feelings, or senses, piacevole (Italian), vergnügt (German), agréablement (French)
Pleasure, at
see 'at pleasure'
Pleasure gardens
although generally associated with London, the great gardens at Vauxhall, Cremorne, Marylebone amd Ranelagh, pleasure gardens sprang up in many of England's larger regional spa towns including Bath. They were a form of entertainment that provided the middle and upper middle classes with a place to meet, listen to music and walk in pleasant surroundings while the working classes could attend too in unsegregated pleasure. Smaller inns and taverns also took to calling themselves pleasure gardens or wells and prospered into the nineteenth century
Plebs
(Latin) the common people, the working-class
Plec.
a slang term among guitar players for the plectrum or 'flatpick'
Plectra
(Latin) plural of plectrum
Plectre
(French m.) plectrum, plettro (Italian m.), Plektrum (German n.), Spielblättchen (German n.), plectro (Spanish m.)
Plectro
(Spanish m.) plectrum, plectre (French m.), plettro (Italian m.), Plektrum (German n.), Spielblättchen (German n.)
Plectrum (s.), Plectra (pl.)
(English, Dutch, Latin s.) or 'pick', plectre (French m.), plettro (Italian m.), Plektrum (German n.), Spielblättchen (German n.), plectro (Spanish m.)
a small piece of wood, bone, leather, quill, or whatever, used to pluck a string
Pledge
a solemn or formal commitment to do or give or refrain from something
to pay (an amount of money) as a contribution to a charity or service (especially at regular intervals), to propose a toast to, to give as a guarantee, to bind or secure by a promise
Pledget
usually made of cotton or wool, a small flat absorbent pad used to medicate, drain, or protect a wound or sore
Pléiade, La
see La Pléiade
plein (m.), pleine (f.)
(French) full, complete
Plein air
(French m.) an 'open air' atmosphere that is characteristic of certain landscape paintings
plein de (m.), pleine de (f.)
(French) full of
plein de coins et de recoins
(French) rambling
pleinement
(French) fully
plein jeu
(French m., literally 'full stops') also called 'full up', another word for principal chorus with mixture, i.e. organo pleno or for the engagement of all the registers on a harpsichord
Plein jeu harmonique
(French) a mixture stop, in an organ
Plektron (s.), Plektra (pl.)
(German n.) or Spielblättchen (German n.), plectrum, pick, plettro (Italian m.), plectre (French m.), plectro (Spanish m.)
Plektrum (s.), Plektra (pl.)
(German n.) or Spielblättchen (German n.), plectrum, pick, plettro (Italian m.), plectre (French m.), plectro (Spanish m.)
Plena
an Afro-Puerto Rican folk song and dance style played on the 10-stringed cuatro, güiro and panderetas (tambourines), with satyrical lyrics or those making social or political statements. Plena blends elements from Puerto Ricans' wide cultural backgrounds, including music that the Taíno tribes may have used during their ceremonies. This type of music first appeared in Ponce about 100 years ago
a setting that includes both the Ordinary and the Proper of the Mass, as for example, the ten-movement plenary mass, an anonymous Missa Beati Anthonii, which was discovered in a group of fifteenth-century codices in Trent in Northern Italy and which some scholars believe may be the second of two Saint Anthony Masses (the first being for Saint Anthony of Padua) bequeathed in his will to the Cambrai Cathedral by Guillaume Dufay (?1397-1474), neither of which was thought to have survived
Pleng luk thung
(Thai, literally 'song of a child of the fields') the full name for luk thung
pleno
(Italian) full
Pleno iure
(Latin) with full authority
pleno organo
(Latin) full organ
Plenum
(Latin) a space completely filled with matter, the opposite of vacuum
(Latin) the full meeting of a legislative assembly
in music, another word for principal chorus with mixture, i.e. organo pleno
Pleonasm
a habit of speech or writing in which an idea repeats itself in a single sentence, i.e., a redundancy
Plethora
(Latin from Greek) superabundance, excess
Pléthore
(French f. from Latin) over-abundance, plethora, excess
Pletia
small support drum from Ghana played with sticks
Plettro
(Italian m.) plectrum, pick, Plektrum (German n.), Spielblättchen (German n.), plectre (French m.), plectro (Spanish m.)
Pleuelstange
(German f.) connecting rod
pleurant
(French) weeping
pleurer
(French) to cry, to weep, to water (the eyes), to mourn
Pleurésie
(French f.) pleurisy
pleurnicher
(French) to snivel (familiar)
pleuvoir (dans)
(French) to rain (in), to rain down (in), to shower down (in)
Plexus (s. & pl.)
(Latin) a network, a tangled mess, a complicated interweaving
Pli
(French m.) fold, pleat (skirt), crease (trousers), cover, habit
Pliant
(French m.) folding stool, camping stool
(English) easily bent or flexed, pliable
pliant (m.), pliante (f.)
(French) folding, telescopic
Plica
(Latin, literally 'fold') the name used for liquescent neumes found in Parisian polyphony of the early thirteenth century and also used in melismatic music
(French, literally 'bent' or 'bending') dobrado (Portuguese), in dance, a bending of the knee or knees. This is an exercise to render the joints and muscles soft and pliable and the tendons flexible and elastic, and to develop a sense of balance. There are two principal pliés: grand plié or full bending of the knees (the knees should be bent until the thighs are horizontal) and demi-plié or half-bending of the knees. Pliés are done at the barre and in the centre in all five positions of the feet. The third position is usually omitted. When a grand plié is executed in either the first, third or fourth position croisé (feet in the fifth position but separated by the space of one foot) or the fifth position, the heels always rise off the ground and are lowered again as the knees straighten. The bending movement should be gradual and free from jerks, and the knees should be at least half-bent before the heels are allowed to rise. The body should rise at the same speed at which it descended, pressing the heels into the floor. In the grand plié in the second position or the fourth position ouverte (feet in the first position but separated by the space of one foot) the heels do not rise off the ground. All demi-pliés are done without lifting the heels from the ground. In all pliés the legs must be well turned out from the hips, the knees open and well over the toes, and the weight of the body evenly distributed on both feet, with the whole foot grasping the floor
(French) to fold, to bend (for example, the leg, or the body), to submit (to a person)
Plin
(France) Breton dance tune
Plinthe
(French f.) skirting board, baseboard (U.S. term)
Plique
(French) plica
Pliqué à jour
(French) in art, a kind of cloisonné-work in which the ground is removed, after the application of transparent enamels is complete, so that light may shine through the piece to create a stained glass effect
plissé
(French) (a fabric) gathered in small pleats, or so woven as to have a shirred effect over parts of the surface
plisser
(French) to crease, to screw up (the eyes), to pleat (skirt)
Plomb
(French m.) lead, fuse
Plombage
(French m.) filling (dentist)
plomber
(French) to fill (dentist)
Plombier
(French m.) plumber
Plombiere
(French f.) plumbing
Plombs
(French m. pl.) lead-shot
plongeant (m.), plongeante (f.)
(French) (view) from above, plunging (décolleté)
plongé dans
(French) immersed in
Plongée
(French f.) diving
Plongeoir
(French m.) diving-board
Plongeon
(French m.) dive
plonger
(French) to dive, to plunge
Plongeur (m.), Plongeuse (f.)
(French) diver, a person who washes dishes
Plop
a rapidly descending glissando at the start of a note, normally sounded just prior to the beat
Plosive
in linguistics, another term for a non-nasal stop, a class of speech sound characterized by a constriction and sudden release of airflow. Examples are /b/ and /t/
Plot
the structure and relationship of actions and events in a work of fiction
plötzlich
(German) suddenly
plötzlich abreißen
(German) suddenly interrupted
plötzlich verbreitern
(German) suddenly broaden
Plouf
(French m.) splash
Plover
a shore bird with a short tail, long pointed wings, and brown or grey feathers mixed with white
ployer
(French) to bend
Pluck
by picking or pulling them with fingers or a pick, cause the strings on a stringed instrument to vibrate, an effect found on members of the harpsichord family where, attached to each jack, a leather or quill plectrum plucks the strings
Plucking hand fingering
in music written for the guitar, plucking hand fingerings are sometimes supplied
symbol
finger used
p
pulgar (Spanish, thumb)
i
index finger
m
middle finger
a
annular (or ring) finger
x, e, or s
for flamenco 'rasgueados', all three represent the smallest finger
Pluck buffet
anthropologists suggest that pre-adolescent male children in a variety of cultures share the game of "pluck buffet." In this game, one child trades blows on the arm or chest with another to see who is "bravest" or "toughest." Alternatively, pluck buffet also refers to any game in which two individuals challenge each other to some contest (often archery) and the loser must receive a strike from the winner
sound (the string of a musical instrument) with a finger or plectrum, pizzicato (Italian), gepflückt (German), pincé (French)
Plucking
we list below the main plucking techniques for all string instruments:
pizzicato
plucking the string with the tip of the finger or thumb. After a passage of pizzicato a composer should write arco beneath the music to tell the players to return to bowing
arraché, anreissen
a particularly forceful pizzicato
pizzicato secco
a damped pizzicato, where immediately after plucking the note the finger returns to the string to damp the vibration
snap (or 'Bartok') pizzicato
pulling the string upwards and allowing it to 'snap' sharply against the fingerboard
slurred pizzicato
after a pizzicato note is plucked, and while the sound is still ringing, further notes can be played by adding or removing fingers of the left hand
plucking with the fingernail
this effect can be painful for the player especially with thicker strings on the cello and bass
pizzicato tremolo
rapid motion of the finger against the string after it has been plucked
'strumming' or 'chords'
when chords appear in a pizzicato passage they are usually strummed. Chords will be strummed from the lowest note upwards unless indicated otherwise (perhaps by a downward arrow beside the chord). Violin and viola players use the index finger, whereas cello and bass players will use the thumb. When cellos and basses strum downwards they will pull the index finger across the strings
pizzicato chords - not strummed
two or more notes plucked together. If the composer wishes the notes to be plucked simultaneously, a square bracket beside the chord and the words non arpegg. pizz. should be used
quasi guitar
(literally 'like a guitar') violins and violas can be held sideways against the body and strummed. To indicate the direction of strums, either arrows can be used or the symbols for up and down bows
left hand pizzicato
the strings are plucked with left rather than bowing (right) hand. This effect can be combined with arco so that players produce both plucked and bowed notes simultaneously
pizzicato glissando
after a note is plucked the left hand finger slides up or down the string. The destination note of the glissando can be left unspecified. The result is quiet when compared to the plucking sound at the start of the note
Plucking point
the point at which a string, such as that on a harpsichord, is plucked relative to the nut. The smaller the distance to the plucking point the more nasal the tone
Pluck point
in a mechanical action on the organ, this is the point at which the tracker is pulling the valve open. The organist can actually feel this through the key. It is similar to the 'pluck point' in a harpsichord, which the musician can also feel when pressing a key, just as the plectrum is releasing the string at the point of sounding
Plum
(German Pflaume, French Prune, Dutch Pruim, European Species: Prunus domestica: Average Weight: 35 to 50 pounds per cubic foot) a very hard fine grained wood, plum was used for small carved and turned pieces such as buttons and barrel cocks
in medieval manuscripts, method of ruling the guide lines on a page using red lead
Plunderphonics
a term originally coined by John Oswald in 1985 for an essay entitled Plunderphonics, or Audio Piracy as a Compositional Prerogative. It has since been applied to any music made by taking one or more existing audio recordings and altering them in some way to make a new composition. There is no attempt to disguise the fact that the sounds making up the composition have been "borrowed" in this way, and sometimes the sounds may be taken from very familiar sources. Plunderphonics can be considered a form of sound collage
a movable device that changes the length of the tube in which vibrations are set up, so changing the pitch, as on a slide whistle
Plunger (mute)
or 'Wah-Wah mute', a round mute used with brass instruments that is held in front of the bell of the instrument to dampen the sound, the plunger can be moved back and forth, as required, in front of the bell to provide a wide range of sounds
Plupart
(French f.) most (preceded by la)
la plupart (d'entre eux) pensent que (French: most (of them) think that, the majority (of them) think that)
la plupart des gens (French: most people, the majority of people)
la plupart des cas (French: most cases, the majority of cases)
la plupart de mon temps (French: most of my time)
la plupart de son temps (French: most of one's time)
la plupart du temps (French: most of the time)
Pluperfect
another term for augmented (applied to intervals)
Pluralism
the use, sometime simultaneously, of many different styles within a single musical work
Pluriarc
(Equatorial Africa) an instrument similar to an arched harp but having a different neck for each of its three to seven strings, for example the nsambi of Central Africa
Plurivocality
or Mehrstimmigkeit, multi-part singing
plus
(French) more
plus animé
(French) faster, with more animation
plus bas
(French) further dowm, lower down
plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose
(French) the more things change (superficially), the more they remain (fundamentally) the same
plus clair de, le
(French) most of
plus clair de notre temps, le
(French) most of our time
plus court
(French) shorter, lighter
plus diminuée
when dances and chansons were printed (for example, in the lute book of Adrian Le Roy) they were often presented in two versions, the first plain and unadorned, and the second plus diminuée, that is with florid running passages
plus doucement
(French) softer, more softly, leiser (German), più piano (Italian)
Plus fait douceur que violence.
(French) Kindness succeeds where force will fail. (Fables (1668 à 1694), Livre sixième, II, Phébus et Borée, Jean de La Fontaine)
the motto to be found on Arnold Dolmetsch's personally signed keyboard instruments
plus fort
(French) louder
Plus fours
cropped knickerbocker-style trousers made of tweed that are designed to fall four inches below the knee band, from which they get their name
plus grand peintre qui ait jamais vécu, le
(French) the greatest painter who ever lived
plus lent
(French) slower
plus lentement
(French) more slowly
Plus on est de fous, plus on rit.
(French) The more the merrier.
plus ou moins
(French) more or less, about
plus que jamais
(French) more than ever
plus rapid
(French) quicker
plus royaliste que le roi
(French, literally 'more royalist than the king) more enthusiastic about some cause or project than the person most immediately concerned
plus tard
(French) later
plus tôt
(French) earlier
plus tôt possible, le
(French) as soon as possible
plus vite
(French) faster, quicker, swifter
Plygain
(Welsh, literally 'cockcrow') the traditional early-morning carol service held in Welsh churches on Christmas Day. This service took the place of the Cockcrow Mass, or Dawn Mass early on Christmas Morning. Many of the carols and songs are very old indeed, and the music is pure polyphonic harmony, traditionally sung by men and without accompaniment although that aspect of the tradition is fading
Plz.
abbreviation of plaza (Spanish f.: square, plaza)
PM
abbreviation of 'palm mute'
P.M.
abbreviation of 'palm mute', Post mortem (Latin: after death - particularly a dissection carried out to establish the cause of death)
p.m.
abbreviation of post meridiem
Pmo
abbreviation of pianissimo (Italian: very quietly)
Pn.
abbreviation of 'pianoforte'
PNB
abbreviation of produit national brut (French: GNP - gross national product)
Pneuma
(Greek, literally 'breath') the spirit, the soul
in music, florid passages sung on a single vowel, neuma
Pneumatic
pertaining to air, or wind
Pneumatic action
a mechanism designed to lighten the touch in larger organs, levier pneumatique, and which has generally replaced the older tracker system
Pneumatic reader
invented by Anselme Gavioli in 1892, the pneumatic reader replaced the wooden cylinder in a mechanical barrel organ with a system of cardboard books of virtually limitless length. Holes punched in the books are detected by tabs on a keyframe. The circumference of the wooden cylinder no longer dictated the length of the pieces of music
P°
abbreviation of paseo (Spanish m.: avenue)
PO
abbreviation of 'Philharmonic Orchestra'
Po
Chinese cymbals
po'
(Italian) contraction of poco
Pöbel
(German m.) a mob, a rabble
pöbelhaft
(German) loutish
pocchissimo
(Italian) a very little, the least possible, the bare minimum
Poceta
(Italian) a kit, a small voilin used by dancing-masters
poch.
abbreviated form of pochetto or pochissimo
Poche
(French) a kit, a small voilin used by dancing-masters
pochen
(German) to knock, to pound (heart)
pochen auf
(German) to insist on (figurative), to insist upon (figurative)
Pochetta
(Italian f.) a small violin
Pochette
(Italian f., French f., literally a 'little pocket') Taschengeige (German), small violin-like instrument designed to be carried in the pocket of a large coat, played with a short bow, used by a dancing master to playing tunes to which his pupil might learn the steps. These slender instruments are also called 'kits'
(Italian) abbreviation of pochissimo [entry supplied by Jack Claff]
pochissimo
(Italian) a very little, the least possible, the bare minimum
pochissimo rall.
(Italian) a slight rall.
pochissimo ritard.
(Italian) a slight ritard.
Pochoir
also known as 'French stencil', a method of adding colour by hand though the use of cut stencils of paper or thin sheet metal as guides. Known since the Middle Ages, this process was used to achieve subtle colouration on collotypes. It became most popular when creating flat patterns on Art Deco cards of the 1920s. This stenciling method eventually evolved into the screenprinting process
Pocken
(German pl.) smallpox
Pocket
as 'in the pocket', an expression used in jazz to mean perfectly in time, especially of bass playing that is 'in the centre' of the beat, i.e. neither slightly leading, or ahead of, nor slightly behind, or dragging the beat
Pocket bassoon
racket
Pocketbok
(Swedish) paperback
Pocket mandoline
see 'mandolin, mandoline'
Pocket score
also called a study or miniature score, a musical score not primarily intended for performance use, with the notation and/or text reduced in size
poco
(Italian) a little, ein wenig, un peu, rather
poco allegro
(Italian) somewhat quick, rather quick
poco animato
(Italian) a little more animated
poco antes
(Spanish) a short time before
poco à poco
(Italian) little by little, gradually
poco à poco animando
(Italian) becoming steadily more lively
poco à poco con sordino
an orchestral instruction where members of the string section put their mutes on one-by-one while the others continue playing. This creates the unique sound of the section becoming slowly muted rather than the immediate change from senza sordino (unmuted) to con sordino (muted), a technique found in Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé
poco à poco crescendo
(Italian) louder and louder by degrees
poco à poco diminuendo
(Italian) softer and softer by degrees
poco à poco due ed allora tutte le corde
(Italian) gradually two and then all strings
poco à poco più di fuoco
(Italian) with gradually increasing fire and animation
poco curante (s.), poco curanti (pl.)
(Italian) careless, indifferent, nonchalant, one who shows little interest or concern
poco después
(Spanish) soon after
poco dulce
(Spanish) mezzopiano, mp
poco forte
(Italian) somewhat loud
poco, fra
(Italian) see fra poco
poco largo
(Italian) rather slow
poco lento
(Italian) rather slow
poco meno
(Italian) a little less, somewhat less
(Italian) when standing alone poco meno is understood to mean poco meno mosso (Italian: a little less quickly)
poco meno allegro
(Italian) somewhat less quick
poco meno mosso
(Italian) a little less fast, a little slower
poco mosso
(Italian) rapid
poco piano
(Italian) somewhat soft, rather soft
poco più
(Italian) a little more, somewhat more
(Italian) when standing alone poco più is understood to mean poco più mosso (Italian: a little more quickly)
poco più largo
(Italian) a little more slowly
poco più lento
(Italian) somewhat slower
poco più lento della prima volta
(Italian) somewhat slower than the first time
poco più mosso
(Italian) a little faster, somewhat faster
poco più piano
(Italian) a little softer, somewhat softer
poco presto
(Italian) rather quick
poco presto accelerando
(Italian) gradually accelerate the time
poco profundo
(Spanish) shallow, superficial
poco rit.
abbreviation of poco ritardando (Italian: slow slightly, slow down a little bit) [entry prompted by Eric Greene]
poco ritardando
(Italian) slow slightly, slow down a little bit [entry prompted by Eric Greene]
poco, un
see un poco
Podatus
see 'neumatic notation'
Podcasting
broadcasting of prerecorded material over the Internet which is then recorded by individuals to an iPod or a similar device
(English, German n., French m.) rostrum, a raised platform for the conductor
Podsafe
a term created in the podcasting community to refer to any work which, through its licensing, specifically allows the use of the work in podcasting, regardless of restrictions the same work might have in other realms. For example, a song may be legal to use in podcasts, but may need to be purchased or have royalties paid for over-the-air radio use, television use, and possibly even personal use
from the latter half of the nineteenth century, the title given to a strongly programmatic piece for orchestra, usually in one continuous movement
see 'symphonic poem', 'tone-poem'
Poema
(Italian m.) poem
Poema sinfonica
(Italian m.) symphonic poem, tone poem
Poema sinfónico
(Spanish m.) symphonic poem, tone poem
Poème
(French m.) poem
Poème Electronique
the Philips Pavilion at the Brussels World's Fair in 1958 was designed in large part by Iannis Xenakis, at the time one of Le Corbusier's architectural assistants. The program in the pavilion during the World's Fair consisted of Edgard Varèse' Poème Electronique played through 400 loudspeakers, projected images and colored lights created by Le Corbusier, and Iannis Xenakis' Concrète PH played as an interlude between shows
(Spanish f.) classical poetry (that of the ancient Greeks and Romans)
Poesía moderna
(Spanish f.) modern poetry
Poésie
(French f.) poem, poetry
Poeta
(Italian m.) poet
Poeta nascitur non fit
(Latin) a poet is born, not made
Poète
(French m.) poet
Poète maudit
(French m.) a poet insufficiently appreciated by his contemporaries
Poetessa
(Italian f.) poetess
Poetical overture
a descriptive species of overture
Poetic diction
distinctive language used by poets, i.e., language that would not be common in their everyday speech. The most common signs of poetic diction include involve archaisms, neologisms, rhyme, and unusual figures of speech
the phrase and the idea was coined by Thomas Rymer (c.1643-1713)) in the late 1600s, a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished
Poetic license
the freedom of a poet or other literary writer to depart from the norms of common discourse, literal reality, or historical truth in order to create a special effect in or for the reader. When applied to prose writers, the term is often called "artistic license"
the narrative or elegiac voice in a poem (such as a sonnet, ode, or lyric) that speaks of his or her situation or feelings. It is a convention in poetry that the speaker is not the same individual as the historical author of the poem
a variable literary genre characterized by rhythmical patterns of language. These patterns typically consist of patterns of meter (regular patterns of high and low stress), syllabification (the number of syllables in each line of text), rhyme, alliteration, or combinations of these elements. The poem typically involves figurative language such as schemes and tropes, and the poem may bend (or outright break) the conventions of normal communicative speech in the attempt to embody an original idea or convey a linguistic experience. Many modern students mistakenly believe that rhyme is the dominant feature separating poetry from prose (non-poetic) writings. However, rhyme is actually a fairly recent addition to poetry. In classical Greece and Rome, meter was the trait that separated poetry from prose
poetry (poesis, 'making', since Herodotus) and poetics (poietike, viz., techne, since Plato), the words as well as the concepts were created by the Greeks in their endeavor to analyze man and the cosmos rationally. The subsequent evolution of these ideas is determined by their Greek origin, as is evident in the terminology. Until the mid eighteenth century, the Greek words, or their equivalents, were used in Latin and in the vernaculars; 'poetry' being to all purposes identical with verse. Literary prose-oratory, history, philosophy-belonged to the parallel but separate 'art' of rhetoric. Prose fiction (novels and short stories) was ignored or explicitly rejected by the theorists. Until the beginnings of romanticism, the modern concept of art did not exist, though in classical antiquity attempts were made to group poetry together with fine arts. Only in the eighteenth century was the modern system of arts, as well as the concept of 'aesthetics', created
"Poetry, therefore, we call musical thought. The Poet is he who thinks in that manner. At bottom, it turns still on the power of intellect; it is a man's sincerity and depth of vision that makes him a Poet. See deep enough, and you see musically; the heart of Nature being everywhere music, if you can only reach it...." Thomas Carlyle (1759-1881) On Heroes and Hero-Worship (1840)
(Russian, literally 'destruction') an organised massacre aimed at the elimination of a class or type of people (especially the massacre of Jews)
Poi
(Maori) small ball on the end of a string that is twirled in the hands and slapped to provide a rhythmic accompaniment
poi
(Italian) then, after, afterwards, later, later on, finally
poi à poi
(Italian) by degrees
poi à poi tutti le corde
(Italian) all the strings, one after another
poiché
(Italian) since
Poids
(French m.) weight
Poids du bras
(French m.) weight of the arm
Poids du corps
(French m.) weight of the body
Poignet
(French m.) wrist
Poïkilorgan
a reed organ invented in the early 1830s by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, similar to the harmonium of François Debain developed in the early 1840s
Poïkilorgue
(French m.) a reed organ invented in the early 1830s by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, similar to the harmonium of François Debain developed in the early 1840s
poi la coda
(Italian) then (play) the coda
Poilu
(French m., literally 'hairy') a French private solidier, a reference to his unkempt and unshaven appearance
Point
(French m.) dot, augmentation dot, as in le point de prolongation
(English) an isolated note
(English) an obsolete term meaning the subject of a fugue or of any kind of imitation, such a subject consisting of any number of notes
(also called the tip) punta d'arco (Italian), Spitze (German), pointe (French), on the bow of a stringed instrument, the opposite end to the heel
Point d'Alençon
(French m.) a kind of lace made at Alençon
Point d'appui
(French m.) a fulcrum, the point of leverage
Point d'arrêt
(French m.) a musical symbol placed over a rest to be extended beyond its normal duration
Point d'attaque
(French m.) on a piano (or clavichord), where the hammer (or tangent) strikes the string
(French m.) on a harpsichord, spinet, guitar, mandolin, etc., where the plectrum strikes the string
Point de diminution
(French f. pl.) a mark that indicates that a note should be held for less than its unmarked length (for example, staccato, martellato, portamento) the remaining time being silent
Point de nouvelles, bonnes nouvelles.
(French) No news is good news.
Point de prolongation
(French m.) augmentation dot, often abbreviated to 'dot'
Point de repère
(French m.) a reference point, a rallying point, a point from which to take one's bearings
Point de repos
(French m.) a pause
Point de Venise
(French m.) a kind of lace made in Venice
Point de vue de la caméra
(French m.) camera view point
Point d'exclamation
(French m.) exclamation mark
Point d'honneur
(French m.) a point of honour, a code of honour
Point d'interrogation
(French m.) question mark
Point d'orgue
(French m.) organ point, pedal point, harmonic pedal
(French m.) a term applied to the cadenza in a concerto
Point d'orgue
(French m.) a musical symbol placed over a note to be extended beyond its normal duration
pointé (m.), pointée (f.)
(French) dotted, detached, pointed, pricked
see inégal
Pointe
(French f.) toe, point, the extreme point of the toe (in ballet)
"The pricking and sharp end of something. ... Is said about wine and means a certain piquant and agreeable flavour: "This wine lacks pointe." ... "A sauce that has no pointe" is one that is not spicy enough." - Dictionnaire de l'Académie Françoise (1694)
(French f.) a tremolo with the point or tip of the bow
Pointe d'archet, à la
(French f.) see à la pointe d'archet
Pointe de chevalet
(French f.) bridge-pin
Pointed psalm
a psalm with the words printed with special symbols indicating the manner of chanting, as for example, Anglican chant
pointée
(French) dotted
Pointe métallique (s.), Pointes métalliques
(French f.) metal pins (for example, as on a barrel organ or music box, etc.)
pointer
(French) to dot
"By means of a dot, to make a series of naturally equal notes alternately long and short, for example a succession of quavers (eighth notes). In order to pointer a note, you add a dot after the first, an extra flag to the second, a dot to the third, a flag to the fourth, and so on. In this manner the same value [i.e., a crotchet (quarter note)] that they formerly possessed is maintained for the pairs; but this value is distributed unequally over the two quavers (eighth notes), so that the first or long note has three-quarters of the value, and the second or short note has the remaining quarter. In order to pointer them in performance, you play them unequally in these same proportions, even when they are noted equally. In Italian music all eighth notes are always equal, unless they are shown pointé. But in French music we play quavers (eighth notes) equally only in four-beat bars (measures); in all others we always dot the notes a little, unless croches égales is indicated." - Rousseau (1768)
(French) to show one's face, peep around (the corner, door)
Pointe shoes
the satin ballet shoes used by dancers when dancing sur les pointes. The ballet shoes of Marie Taglioni, the first major ballerina to dance on her points, were not blocked but were padded with cotton wool. Later (about 1862) the toes of the ballet slippers were stiffened (blocked) with glue and darned to give the dancer additional support. Today the toes of pointe shoes are reinforced with a box constructed of several layers of strong glue in between layers of material
pointes, sur les
(French, literally 'on the points') in dance, the raising of the body on the tips of the toes. Also used in the singular, sur la pointe. First introduced in the late 1820s or early 1830s at the time of Taglioni. There are three ways of reaching the points, by piqué, relevé or sauté
Pointe tendue
(French) in ballet, when the leg is extended and stretched so that only the toes touch the floor
Pointe tendue a terre
(French) stretch point on the ground
Pointe tendue en l'air
(French) stretch point in the air, hip high
Pointe tendue demi-en l'air
(French) stretch point half way in the air
Pointe work
the technique of dancing sur les pointes
Point final
(French m.) the concluding pause, or cadence
(French m.) full stop, period
Pointillism
the emphasis, in a serially organised process, on single notes
Pointillisme
(French m.) in art, the method developed by the Impressionist painters of producing an effect of light by juxtaposing dots of pure colour which are blended by the eye
Pointillisme musical
(French m.) pointillist music, the musical equivalent of the identically named effect in art
Pointilliste
(French m.) a practitioner of pointillisme
Pointing
synonymous with 'fuguing'
although often based more on established even erroneous practices in local churches than on a well-considered or systematic approach based on the natural prose rhythms of of the psalms and canticles, 'pointing' (often with red marks) was a way of indicating to inexperienced church choirs the portion of the verse to be recited and the portion to be inflected, and to ensure a uniform matching of the syllables to the notes. The first 'pointed' psalter appeared as the 'Ely Psalter', authored by Robert James, organist of Ely Cathedral, and published in 1837
Point-neumes
see 'neumatic notation'
Point of imitation (s.), Points of imiation (pl.)
a passage in a polyphonic work in which two or more parts enter in imitation. It is a method that characterises most of the Renaissance period, beginning especially with the so-called 2nd Franco-Flemish generation of composers (including Josquin des Prez, Jacob Obrecht and Henricus Isaac) who flourished in the late 15th and early 16th centuries [entry provided by Brandon Hendrix]
Point of view
the way a story gets told and who tells it. It is the method of narration that determines the position, or angle of vision, from which the story unfolds. Point of view governs the reader's access to the story. Many narratives appear in the first person (the narrator speaks as "I" and the narrator is a character in the story who may or may not influence events within it). Another common type of narrative is the third-person narrative (the narrator seems to be someone standing outside the story who refers to all the characters by name or as he, she, they, and so on). When the narrator reports speech and action, but never comments on the thoughts of other characters, it is the dramatic third person point of view or objective point of view. The third-person narrator can be omniscient - a narrator who knows everything that needs to be known about the agents and events in the story, and is free to move at will in time and place, and who has privileged access to a character's thoughts, feelings, and motives. The narrator can also be limited - a narrator who is confined to what is experienced, thought, or felt by a single character, or at most a limited number of characters. Finally, there is the unreliable narrator (a narrator who describes events in the story, but seems to make obvious mistakes or misinterpretations that may be apparent to a careful reader). Unreliable narration often serves to characterize the narrator as someone foolish or unobservant
the central figure in a limited point of view narration, the character through whom the reader experiences the author's representation of the world
Point virgule
(French m.) semicolon
Poirt
(Gaelic) jigs
poi segue
(Italian) then follows, here follows
poi seguente
(Italian) then follows, here follows
Poissard
(French) a popular comic theatre which parodied more elevated literary genres through its use of the common street language and colourful portrayal of the fishwives (poissardes) of the Seine and drunken tarts said to have been invented by the French composer Jean-Joseph Vadé (1719-1757)
Poisson
(French m., literally 'fish') in dance, a position of the body in which the legs are crossed in the fifth position and held tightly together with the back arched. This pose is taken while jumping into the air or in double work when the danseuse is supported in a poisson position by her partner
Poitrine
(French f.) chest, bosom, bust (anatomical), breast (culinary)
Poivrot (m.), Poivrote (f.)
(French) drunkard (familiar)
Pojoca zaga
(Slovenia) singing saw, musical saw
Pokal
(German m.) a goblet, a cup (for example, an award in a competition)
pökeln
(German) to salt (in cooking)
Pokey Four
one of the figures unique to, or traditionally associated with, square dancing
(Croatia) the chain sword dance performed by male dancers on the island of Lastovo. Apart from the male variant of the dance with swords, one also finds that the woman of Lastovo perform their own version of the same dance, holding kerchiefs in place of the swords
Sword dances from which this information has been taken
Pokok
(Balinese) the main melody of a piece
Pol
(German m.) a pole
Pol.
abbreviation of 'Polish'
Polaca
(Spanish f.) a Polish dance, polonaise
Polacca
(Italian f.) a Polish dance, polonaise
Polacco
(Italian m./f.) a Pole (from Poland)
polacco
(Italian) Polish
Polari
or alternatively parlare, parlary, palare, palarie, palari, parlyaree, from Italian parlare, 'to talk'), a form of cant slang used in the gay subculture in Britain, a mixture of Romance (Italian or Mediterranean Lingua Franca), Romany, London slang, backslang, rhyming slang, sailor slang, and thieves' cant. Later it expanded to contain words from the Yiddish language of the Jewish subculture which settled in the East End of London, the US forces (present in the UK during World War II) and 1960s drug users
in its general sense, to divide into two opposing groups (hence, to polarize opinion)
polarizzare
(Italian) to polarize
Polaroid
a material in thin sheets polarizing light passing through it, a camera with internal processing that produces a print rapidly after each exposure
Polca
(Italian f., Spanish f.) polka
Polcaí
(Gaelic) polkas
Polca
(Italian f.) polka
Polca paraguaya
see 'Danza Paraguaya'
Polca piqué
(Spanish f.) polka piquée
Polder
(Dutch) a tract of land reclaimed from the sea and protected from inundation by dikes (especially in The Netherlands)
Poleax
to dumbfound (colloquial), to overwhelm (colloquial)
Polemic
a forceful verbal or written controversy or argument
Polemica
(Italian f.) controversy
Polemical
involving dispute, controversial
Polemicist
one involved in a dispute, a controversialist
polemico
(Italian) polemic, polemical
Polemics
the art or practice of controversial discussion
polemizzare
(Italian) to engage in controversy
Polenta
(Italian) a porridge made of maize usually associated with the diets of the Italian poorer classes
Pole star
(refernece to to star in the Little Bear, near the North Pole in the sky) used colloquially, for a thing serving as a guide
Policlinico
(Italian m.) general hospital
Polifonia
(Italian f.) polyphony
Polifonía
(Spanish f.) polyphony
Polifonia vocale
(Italian f.) vocal polyphony
polifônica
(Portuguese) polyphonic
Poligamia
(Italian f.) polygamy
poligamo
(Italian) polygamous
Poligono
(Italian m.) polygon
Polimetría
(Spanish f.) polymeter
Poliomyelitis
an infectious viral disease of the grey matter of the central nervous system with temporary or permanent paralysis
Poliphant
or Poliphone, a significant English instrument of which no examples have survived. It was said by Playford to have been invented by Daniel Farrant. We are lucky to have a crude sketch of the instrument with a brief description by Randle Holme from around 1680, and a more detailed description by James Talbot from the end of the century. The later description is of a somewhat more complex instrument than that in the Holme account. The descriptions are both confusing, but Talbot lets slip the interesting information that one of the ranks of open strings is to be played with the player's left thumb while the left-hand fingers manage the frets on the fingerboard. The right-hand thumb managed another rank of open bass strings whilst all four fingers of the right hand (in contrast to lute technique which used only two fingers at this period) play the fretted strings
(French f.) good manners, the practice of etiquette (usually involving excessive formality)
Politic
(of an action) judicious, expedient
(of a person) prudent, sagacious
Politica
(Italian f.) politics, policy
Política agraria
(Spanish f.) agricultural policy
Political asylum
State protection given to a political refugee from another country
Political prisoner
a person imprisoned for political reasons
Politicize
to give a political character to, to make politically aware, to engage in or talk politics
Politico
(Spanish) a professional politician, an opportunist
(English, from the Spanish) politician or political enthusiast (colloquial)
Politico (m.), Politica (f.)
(Italian) politician
politico (m.), politica (f.)
(Italian) political
Politique
(French m.) a professional politician, an opportunist
Pólitonal
(Spanish) polytonal
Politonalidad
(Spanish f.) polytonality
Polizia
(Italian f.) police
poliziesco
(Italian) to police
Poliziotto
(Italian m.) policeman
Polizza
(Italian f.) policy
Polizza di pegno
(Italian) pawn-ticket
Polka
(English, German f., from Bohemian pulka) a round dance, of mid nineteenth-century Bohemian peasant origin, in quick duple time
the modern Polish-American favourite dance, the polka is a lively couple-dance in a moderately fast duple meter. Because of its acceptance as a ethnic symbol by Polish immigrants to North America, the polka is gradually increasing its position among Polish dances and is often present in the repertoire of Polish folk dance ensembles in the U.S. The dance, however, is not Polish; it is not enumerated among the five "national" dances of Poland which include: polonaise, kujawiak, mazur, oberek, and krakowiak
the polka arrived in Dominica (Caribbean) in the 1850s. Its strong staccato quality was immediately popular and easy to adapt to the local Creole rhythms
Polka from which some of this information has been taken
an index of the amount of pollen in the air, published as a warning to hay fever sufferers
Pollice
(Italian m.) thumb
Polline
(Italian m.) pollen
Pollivendolo (m.), Pollivendola (f.)
(Italian) poulterer
Pollo
(Italian m.) chicken
Polmone (s.), Polmoni (pl.)
(Italian m.) lung
Polmonite
(Italian f.) pneumonia
polnisch
(German) Polish
polnischer Bock
(German) bagpipe
Polo
(Italian m.) pole
see flamenco
Polo
(Spanish m.) a popular Venezuelan style where singers improvise and sing verses from well known traditional songs usually accompanied by bandolina, guitarra, cuatro, charrasca, maracas and furruco
Polonaise
(German f., French f., English) a stately Polish processional dance, performed by couples who walk around the dance hall; the music is in triple meter and moderate tempo. The dance developed from the Polish dance (taniec polski) of the eighteenth-century; this form, in turn, was derived from the chodzony (walking dance) which was popular in the seventeenth century and known as a pieszy (pedestrian), or chmielowy (hops) dance. The latter form had its roots in the folk wedding dances, from which it separated and then entered the dance repertoire of the nobility. The folk variants continued to develop independently of the "Polish dance," resulting in such dances as chodzony, chmielowy (in the villages), and swieczkowy (in the towns). The Polish name of the dance, polonez, stems from the Polish form of the French term polonaise which was introduced in the seventeenth century (also used in English); the Polish term replaced the earlier name of the "Polish dance" in the eighteenth century; the earliest Polish source is a 1772 manuscript collection by Joseph Sychra (with 62 polonaises)
in her article How to play Chopin?, Prof. Regina Smendzianka writes, "The first two Polonaises, G minor and B flat major (which are identical in form), already have in the Introductions a rhythmic formula characteristic of the polonaise (the beginning bar - the so called polonaise rhythm, an eighth and two sixteenths [a quaver and two semiquavers]). This formula allows the listener to unmistakably tell the polonaise from other dance compositions in three-four time. The commonly used and, in principle, desirable interpretive "mannerism," which means extending (with a slight emphasis) the first eighth [quaver] and accelerating the two sixteenths [semiquavers], originated in the choreography of this dance - the first (in the bar) step of the polonaise is slightly longer. Similarly, in the accompaniment of the eighths [quavers], which are equal in length within the bar, the first may be extended."
as described above, the polonaise as a dance form should not be confused with the chorea polonica (i.e. "Polish dance" in Latin) occurring frequently in the Baroque manuscripts of the seventeenth century. According to many scholars, the chorea polonica has musical characteristics of the krakowiak, not the polonaise. The Baroque polonaise is a processional dance in 3/4 time with which the court ballets of the seventeenth century were opened. It may be seen today in such ballets as The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. The polonaise is a march in which two steps are taken forward on the demi-pointes and then the third step is taken flat with the supporting knee bent in fondu and the other leg raised in front
a high round turned-over collar, a sweater with this
Polonesa
(Spanish f.) polonaise
Polonese
(Italian) polonaise
Polonez
(Polish) polonaise
Polonia
(Italian f.) Poland
Polonoise
(Polish) polonaise
Polo shirt
a short-sleeved pullover with small flat collar that would stay in place during an entire game of polo, the style later adapted to t-shirts and sportswear
Polpastrello
(Italian m.) fingertips
Polpa
(Italian f.) pulp
Polpaccio
(Italian m.) calf
Polpastrello
(Italian m.) fingertip
Polpetta
(Italian f.) meatball
Polpo
(Italian m.) octopus
polposo
(Italian) fleshy
Pols
Swedish and Norwegian country dance, a form of the generic polska
Polsino
(Italian m.) cuff
Polska
(Swedish) a simple triple time dance of Scandinavian origin derived from the mazurka, the most typical of all Swedish dance rhythms. It is much older than and unrelated to the waltz and should not be confused with the far more recent 2/4-meter polka; indeed, the polska has been traced back to the late 1500s. Some 80% of all Swedish folk tunes are in polska time, including the popular old-time dance hambo
(Swedish) plural of polska [corrected by John P. Wendell]
Polso
(Italian m.) wrist (anatomical), pulse, strength (figurative)
Polster
(German n.) pillow, cushion
Polstertanz
(German m.) pillow or cushion dance
Poltergeist (s.), Poltergeister (pl.)
(German) a spirit that makes its presence known by noises (which was its original association) and the displacement of material objects (which has now become its most characteristic behaviour)
Poltiglia
(Italian f.) mush, a poultice
poltrire
(Italian) to lie around
Poltrona
(Italian f.) an armchair, (theatre) stall
poltrone
(Italian) lazy
Poltroon
a spiritless coward
Poltroonery
the act of being a spiritless coward
Polvere
(Italian f.) dust, powder (a finely milled substance)
polverizzare
(Italian) to pulverize, to atomize
Polverone
(Italian m.) a cloud of dust
polveroso
(Italian) dusty
Poly-
a prefix indicating many
Polyaccord
(French m.) polychord
Polyakkord
(German m.) polychord
Polyandry
polygamy in which a woman has more than one husband
Polychoral
a term used to describe the writing of music in which in a single work distinct choirs of voices and/or instruments are set variously in opposition (antiphonally) and in combination, for example, canzoni by Giovanni Gabrieli (c.1554-1612), and others, in seventeenth-century Venice
Polychord
the simultaneous use of two or more simple chords (such as triads), a technique used in twentieth-century compositions
many coloured, (of light) containing more than one wavelength
Polychrome
(a work of art) in many colour
Polychronion
an acclamation used to welcome high dignitaries of the Orthodox church which begins with the phrase 'Many be the years'
Polyester
synthetic fibre or yarn
Polyesterharz
(German n.) polyester resin
Polyfoni
(Swedish, Danish) polyphony
Polyfonia
(Finnish, Spanish f.) polyphony
Polyfonie
(German f., Dutch) polyphony
polyfonisch
(German) polyphonic
Polygenesis
the theory that, if two similar stories, words, or images appear in two different geographic regions or languages, they are actually unrelated to each other and each arose independently
Polyglot
knowing, using, or written in several languages (also the person able to do this)
Polygyny
polygamy in which a man has more than one wife
Polyharmony
two or more complete sets of harmony played against each other, used in twentieth-century compositions
Polyhymnia
(Greek) the muse of song, or vocal music
Polymath
a person of great or varied learning
Polymeter
the simultaneous use of more than one meter in an ensemble composition
Polymetre
the simultaneous use of more than one meter in an ensemble composition
Polymetric
music using different time signatures simultaneously ('polymeter', 'polymetre'), found most commonly in works of the 14th- and 20th-centuries but also used in jazz when one player phrases crotchets (quarter notes) in groupings of 3 to suggest 3/4 time while the other members of the ensemble play in 4/4
(German f.) polymetrics, the technique of polymetrics
polymetrisch
(German) polymetric
Polymnia
(Greek, literally 'many voices') polyphony
Polymodal chromaticism
the use of any and all musical modes sharing the same finale simultaneously or in succession and thus creating a texture involving all twelve notes of the chromatic scale (total chromatic). Alternately it is the free alteration of the other notes in a mode once its finale has been established
having many forms, an expression used in canon and counterpoint and applied to a musical phrase or theme that admits of various transformations, such as inversion, augmentation and diminution
Polyphonic
music made in many parts, written in the contrapuntal style, where interest is spread through all the parts (as opposed to a homophonic style in which the interest lies primarily in only one part)
Polyphonic conductus
the thirteenth-century motet is frequently contrasted with the polyphonic conductus, which had a single poetic text for all voices, with aligning rhythms and cadences. It also had a newly-composed tenor line, and so was constructed quite differently from the motet, which had a pre-existing chant or secular tune as a tenor
(Greek) the characteristic of 'polyphony', full-voiced, for many voices
polyphonisch
(German) polyphonic
Polyphonus
(GReek) the characteristic of 'polyphony', full-voiced, for many voices
Polyphony
(Greek polyphonia, literally 'many sounds') polyphony developed in the music of the church. From the earliest musical settings of the mass, which were plainchant melodies characterised by one voice part in free rhythm, we see how, from the 9th- to the 16th-centuries, various plainchants were expanded using tropes (grafting new music and new texts onto the original chants). Polyphony, in the form of organum, the simultaneous combination of more than one melody, was developed in about the ninth century. For example, The Winchester Troper, an eleventh-century manuscript, contains 12 Kyries and 8 Glorias in two-part organum, but the notation has not been deciphered. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, organum was further developed as we can see clearly in the Magnum Liber Organi. In about 1300, polyphonic cycles of the Ordinary (having two or more sections musically related to one another) appeared. Guillaume de Machaut (d. 1377) wrote the first complete Ordinary cycle, the Messe de Notre Dame. The secular music style of the fourteenth century manifested itself in Ordinary settings, which by this time were only rarely based on plainsong melodies. The music was basically in a descant or treble-dominated style, that is, a melodically and rhythmically elaborated upper part over two slower moving parts, usually written to be performed by instruments. The peak of polyphony as a form is the sacred music of the sixteenth century, and particularly that of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1526-1594)
a term used to describe the ability of some synthesisers to play more than one note simultaneously, thus an instrument that can play up to eight note simultaneously is said to have 'eight-voice polyphony'
Polypropylene
a stable, stiff plastic with good transparent clarity
Polyrhythm
or 'rhythmic counterpoint', superimposition of multiple rhythms (different rhythms) in different voice parts
Polyrhythmic
music that uses several different rhythms ('polyrhythm') at the same time, whether through the use of polymeter or cross-rhythms
in counterpoint, a situation in which the rhythm of each line is independent, the opposite of 'homorhythmic'
(German f.) polyrhythmics, the technique of using polyrhythmics
polyrhythmik
(German) polyrhythmic
Polyrhythmophone
see 'Rhythmicon'
Polyrhythmus
(German m.) polyrhythm
polyritmiek
(Dutch) polyrhythmic
Polyrythmie
(French) cross rhythm
Polystylism
the use of multiple styles or techniques of music, and is seen as a postmodern characteristic
Polysyllabic
having more than one syllable, using words with more than one syllable
Polysyllable
a polysyllabic word
Polysyndeton
(Latin) in linguistics, the use of several conjunctions in close succession, especially where some might be omitted (as in "he ran and jumped and laughed for joy"). It is a stylistic scheme used to slow the rhythm of prose and can add an air of solemnity to a passage. It can be contrasted with 'asyndeton', which is a coordination containing no conjunctions, and 'syndeton', with one conjunction. Both polysyndeton and asyndeton are examples of rhetorical schemes
Polysyndeton from which most of this extract has been taken
Polytextual
two or more texts set simultaneously in a composition, for example, in the early motet
Polytextuality
the character of music that is polytextual
Polythematic
music based on several themes
Polyethylene
a stable, flexible, transparent or translucent plastic
polytonaal
(Dutch) polytonal
Polytonal
(English, German) music that uses many keys simultaneously
or PVC, a popular plastic used in a wide variety of products. It is unstable and emits hydrochloric acid as it ages
Pomander
(from the French pomme d'ambre) a hollow, perforated sphere containing a waxed perfumed ball impregnated with scent, such as ambergris, musk, cloves, or hartshorn. Men wore pomanders suspended from a chain; women attached them to their girdles. Especially fashionable in the sixteenth century
Pommade
(French f.) ointment, cream
(French f.) in cooking, a smooth creamy mixture, made of various ingredients, spread over slices of meat before cooking. However the term is used more widely for any smooth-textured mixtures applied to the skin, to the hair, in the care of leather, etc.
the term is found in the expression passer de la pommade à quelqu'un (French: to butter someone up, to soft-soap someone)
pommader
(French) to (use) pommade
Pommer
(German m.) bombard, bombarda (Italian f., Spanish f.), Bombard (German m.), bombarde (French f.)
in the organ, a flute stop
Pompa a tiro
(Italian f.) pompa mobile a coulisse (Italian f.), slide (for example, on a trombone), Zug (German m.), coulisse (French f.), vara (Spanish f.
Pompa mobile a coulisse
(Italian f.) pompa a tiro (Italian f.), slide (for example, on a trombone), Zug (German m.), coulisse (French f.), vara (Spanish f.)
Pompe
(French f.) see la pompe
Pompé
in classical Greco-Roman culture, many major festivals were marked by a pompé. A pompé was a combination of a parade, pilgrimage, and religious procession Worshipper would don special garb, line up in rows by the thousands, and then travel through the city or from one holy site to another
(French) as in style pompier, a style of writing characteristic of a windy imitator of the style of others (in other words, derivative, banal, vulgar, etc.)
Pompier art
L'art pompier (French, literally "Fireman Art"), a derisory late nineteenth century French term for large "official" academic art paintings of the time, especially historical or allegorical ones. It derives from the fancy helmets, with horse-hair tails, worn at the time by French firemen - now only for parades - which are fatally similar to the Greek-style helmets often worn in such works by allegorical personifications, classical warriors, or Napoleonic cavalry. It also suggests half-puns in French with Pompéin (from Pompeii), and pompeux (pompous). Pompier art was seen by those who used the term as the epitome of the values of the bourgeoisie, and as insincere and overblown
self-important, affectedly grand or solemn, pomposo (Italian), pompös (German), prächtig (German), pompeux (French m.), pompeuse (French f.)
pon atención a esto
(Spanish) pay attention to this
Ponche
term used to describe beat four, or the last beat of the 'three side' of the clave, or any of the rhythmic variations played off of this beat. It is a key point of emphasis in Latin music
Poncho
(Spanish) a South American cloak consisting of a blanket, circular or occasionally rectangular piece of cloth with a hole cut away in the middle for the head
poncif
(French) (said of a work of art) commonplace and stereotypical in conception and execution
(Italian) with weight, ponderous, heavily, massively, in a vigorous and impressive style
poner a ... en antecedentes
(Spanish) to put ... in the picture (somebody)
poner al descubierto
(Spanish) to expose
poner ... a prueba
(Spanish) to put ... to the test (something)
poner cara de asco
(Spanish) to make a face (figurative), to pull a face (figurative)
poner ... en acción
(Spanish) to put ... into action (something)
poner en bastardilla
(Spanish) to italicise
poner en duda
(Spanish) to question
poner en el arroyo
(Spanish) to throw into the street
poner en peligro
(Spanish) to endanger
poner la antena
(Spanish) to prick up one's ears (familiar, ironic)
poner la mesa
(Spanish) to lay the table
poner las cartas sobre la mesa
(Spanish) to put one's cards on the table, to lay one's cards on the table
ponerse al aparato
(Spanish) to come to the phone
ponerse de acuerdo
(Spanish) to come to an agreement, to reach an agreement
ponerse en cobro
(Spanish) to go into hiding
ponerse en contacto con
(Spanish) to get in touch with
poner sobre aviso a ...
(Spanish) to warn ... (somebody)
poner un examen
(Spanish) to set an exam
Pong lang
(Northern Issan, Thailand) a xylophone played with hard sticks consisting of 15 wooden bars strung together. The lower pitched end is elevated and mounted on a post so that the xylophone bars hang on a diagonal. It is played by two people. One person plays the melody while the other plays the drone
pon la radio más alta
(Spanish) turn the radio up
pon las verduras aparte
(Spanish) put the vegetables to one side, put the vegetables on one side, put the vegetables on the side
ponlos a la misma altura
(Spanish) put them at the same height
ponlo un poco más arriba
(Spanish) put it a little higher up
Pons asinorum
(Latin) originally a reference to the fifth proposition in the first book of Euclid (on geometry) but now applied to any problem that the dull-witted find difficult to solve
Pont
(French m.) bridge
Ponta
(Italian f.) see punta
Ponte
(Portuguese) bridge (of an instrument with strings)
ponte al aparato
(Spanish)come to the phone
Pontet
(French m.) tensioner
Ponticello
(Italian m., literally 'little bridge') the bridge of a stringed instrument, Steg (German m.), chevalet (French m.)
a term used by bel canto singers for the join between the head and chest voices
Pontic lyra
see kamanche
Pontifex maximus
(Latin) the Supreme Pontiff, the Pope (originally the title of the Chief Priest in ancient Rome)
Pontifical
book containing the text of services which had to be performed by a bishop
Pontificalia
(Latin pl.) the vestments of a pope, cardinal or bishop, the vestments of a priest
Pont-levis
(French m.) a drawbridge
Pont neuf
(French m.) popular airs (often vulgar) sung in Parisian streets, named after the well-known bridge over the River Seine
pon una señal en la página
(from Spanish) mark the page
Ponzi scheme
also known as pyramid scheme, a fraudulent arrangement in which investors are promised very high returns on their investment, while in reality early investors are paid with money collected from later investors
Poorab ang
the 'eastern' school of Indian classical music, usually involving varanasi (singing) or thumri (playing the tabla)
Poor Clares
the female branch of the Franciscan order, maintaining an enclosed monastic life rather than one equivalent to that of the friars
Poorvang
in Indian music, the lower tetrachord - in sargam notation, from sa to ma
Poothanumthirayum
from Southern India, ritual offering to Goddess Kaali performed in many places in South Malabar. A troupe of dancers dress up as Kaali (the Thira) and the accompanying spirits (the Poothams)
(from Latin, papa, literally 'father') head and spiritual leader of the church in Western Europe
Popevke
(Croatia) one-part tunes with melodic lines of greater range, based on old church modes (particularly Dorian and Aeolian) and pentatonic scales
Poplar
(German Pappel, French Peuplier, Dutch Populier, European Species: Populus sp. (nigra and alba are the most common): Average Weight: 35-40 pounds per cubic foot) Poplar is a fast growing tree with soft wood that was used as firewood. The predominant German carving wood in the 13th and 14th centuries, it was also used for wooden shoes. Poplar was also a popular wood for turning. Italian Poplar (P. serotina) is a large tree with wood on the lighter end of the range. Yellow Poplar (Liriodendron tulipfera) might be an acceptable replacement
in dance, a term that refers to both the sudden contraction of muscles and a form of dance that is composed of a series of those contractions that originated in the funk era. The visual results appear as if the dancer's body is popping instead of moving more naturally. The style is closely related to liquid dancing
a genre of music that combines elements of both Pop and Rock. Songs are identified by their simple song structure, catchy melodies, and repetition of musical passages (the pop part), and by their use of electric guitar- and drums-based instrumentation and a somewhat aggressive attitude (the rock part)
music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and mostly distributed commercially. It stands in contrast to classical music, which historically was the music of elites or the upper strata of society, and traditional folk music which was shared non-commercially. It is sometimes abbreviated to pop music, although pop music is more often used for a narrower branch of popular music
Popular music from which this extract has been taken
Populism
a discourse that claims to support "the people" versus "the elites". Populism may comprise an ideology urging social and political system changes and/or a rhetorical style deployed by members of political or social movements. Generally, populism invokes an idea of democracy as being, above all, the expression of the people's will
(Spanish) over there, thereabouts (approximately), somewhere
por ahora
(Spanish) for the time being
por ahora va todo bien
(Spanish) everything's going all right so far
por algo será
(Spanish) there must be some reason, there must be a reason
por allá
(Spanish) over there
por allí
(Spanish) over there, that way (in that direction)
por amor al arte
(Spanish f.) for nothing, for love, just for the fun of it (familiar)
por amor de Dios
(Spanish) for God's sake, for the love of God
por amplia mayoría
(Spanish) by a large majority
por añadidura
(Spanish) besides, in addition, on top of everything else (colloquial)
por angas o por mangas
(Spanish - Andes, Mexico) for one reason or another (familiar), whether I like it or not (familiar)
por anticipado
(Spanish) in advance
por antonomasia
(Spanish) par excellence
por aquello de que no se enterara por otros
(Spanish) so that she wouldn't find out through other people
por aqui
(Spanish) around here
por arte de birlibirloque
(Spanish) as if by magic
por así decir
(Spanish) so to speak
por avión
(Spanish) air mail (on correspondence)
por azar
(Spanish) by chance
Porcelain flute
see 'ceramic flute'
por centímetro cuadrado
(Spanish) per square centimetre
Porch
a covered entrance to a doorway; in some great churches these became large and elaborate structures
Porcheria
(Italian) disgusting behaviour
por decirlo asi
(Spanish) as it were
por demás
(Spanish) useless, very
por dentro
(Spanish) inside
por descontado
(Spanish) of course
por desdicha
(Spanish) unfortunately
por desgracia
(Spanish) unfortunately
por despecho
(Spanish) out of spite
por detrás
(Spanish) on the back, behind
por dicha
(Spanish) fortunately
Pordon danza
(Spanish f.) a men's dance employing lances
por dondequiera
(Spanish) everywhere
Pore (de bois)
(French m.), Jahresring (German m.), venatura (Italian f.), gli anelli annuali (Italian), grain, pattern of lines of fibre in wood
por el amor de Dios
(Spanish) for God's sake, for the love of God
por el bien ajeno
(Spanish) for the good of others
por el contrario
(Spanish) on the contrary
por encima
(Spanish) above, higher (for example 1 semitono por encima, 'one semitone higher', or la Tercera está 4 semitonos por encima de la tónica, 'the third is 4 semitones above the tonic')
Porenfüller
(German m.) (wood) grain filler
por favor
(Spanish) please
por favor, admite mis disculpas
(Spanish) please accept my apologies
por favor, aguanta la escalera mientras cambio la bombilla
(Spanish) please hold the ladder while I change the light bulb
por la mañana
(Spanish) in the morning
por la puerta grande
(Spanish) in triumph
por las buenas
(Spanish) willingly
por lo bajo
(Spanish) under one's breath, in secret (figurative)
por lo demás
(Spanish) otherwise
por lo que a mi atañe
(Spanish) as far as I'm concerned
por otra parte
(Spanish) on the other hand
por persona
(Spanish) per person
solo se venden dos entradas por persona (Spanish: you can only get two tickets per person)
la comida costó 20 dólares por persona (Spanish: the meal costs 20 dollars a head, the meal costs 20 dollars per head)
¿por qué me tratas así?
(Spanish) why are you treating me like this?
¿por qué no me avisaste que venías?
(Spanish) why didn't you let me know you were coming?
porque no se me antoja
(Spanish) because I don't feel like it
por razones ajenas a nuestra voluntad
(Spanish) for reasons beyond our control
Porrectus
see 'neumatic notation'
Porrectus flexus
see 'neumatic notation'
Porret
a young leek or onion; a scallion
Porro
a tropical Colombian dance, similar to the Cuban rumbas in that it is narrative, set to a very syncopated 2/4 meter
Porron
(Spanish) a wine-flask with a long down-curving spout at the side
por si acaso
(Spanish) in case, just in case
Port
(Scottish) an instrumental composition usually performed on the harp
(English, German m.) a computer can run several MIDI devices at a time with the proper hardware. Each device is connected to a unique port
Port.
abbreviation of 'Portuguese'
Portaaviones
(Spanish m.) aircraft carrier (ship)
Portabebés
(Spanish m.pl.) carrycot
Port a beul
(Gaelic) mouth music
Portada
(Spanish f.) title page (book), front page (of a periodical), cover (of a magazine), front (building), façade (building), sleeve (of an LP, etc.)
Portada del disco
(Spanish f.) album sleeve (for an LP)
Port à deux battants
(French f.) double door
Portadocumentos
(Spanish m.pl. - Latin America) briefcase, attaché case, document wallet
(Spanish m.pl.) roofrack (on a car), boot (of a car), trunk (of a car), luggage rack (in a train, bus, etc.)
Portafolios
(Spanish m.pl.) briefcase
Portament
(Catalan m.) portamento
Portamento
(Spanish m., German n., French m., Italian m., literally 'carrying') very legato, carrying a vocal or instrumental line without gaps in sound
on stringed instruments, an expressive device, a slide from one pitch to another, usually stopping for moment either above or below the destination pitch, which was very popular in the 19th- and early 20th-centuries, but has more recently fallen into disuse
when Chopin wanted the kind of rubato that is a gentle lingering over a few of the notes, he indicated this by writing dots over each of the notes under a slur. This kind of notation for the piano is called portamento
(Italian, French m.) the term is sometimes applied to a mezzo-staccato (for example, a slightly detached touch employed on the piano)
synonymous with appoggiatura
a smooth glide between the two notes, including all the pitches in between. For some instruments, like violin and trombone, this includes even the pitches in between the written notes. For other instruments, such as guitar, it means sliding through all of the possible notes between the two written pitches. Although unusual in traditional common notation, a type of portamento that includes only one written pitch can be found in some styles of music, notably jazz, blues, and rock. The proper performance of scoops and fall-offs (the latter also called drops or spills) requires that the portamento begins (in scoops) or ends (in fall-offs, drops or spills) with the slide itself, rather than with a specific note
(Italian f.) music lyre (portable music holder), Notenhalter (German m.), pupitre portatif (French m.)
portando
(Italian) carrying over, a vocal portamento in which the singer slides from one note to the next, tragend (German), en portant (French)
portando la voce
(Italian) vocal portamento, carrying the voice, holding the voice firmly on the note
portare la voce
(Italian) to employ a vocal portamento, to carry or sustain the voice, to hold the voice firmly on the note
portar la battuta
(Italian) to beat the time
portatif (m.), portative (f.)
(French) portable, portative
Portativ
(German n.) portable, portative
Portative (organ)
a small medieval organ, operated by only one person, small enough to be carried or set on a table, and usually having only one set of pipes. Strapped over the performer's shoulder when in use, the organ was played with the right hand operating the keys while the left hand operated the bellows
(Italian) also 'slurred' or 'articulated' legato, a musical articulation midway between staccato and legato. It is indicated by a slur over notes bearing a staccato dot or by a tenuto marking combined with a staccato dot
Portato marking
a short horizontal line and a staccato dot over the notehead; alternatively, a single staccato dots over each of a group of notes under a slur
portato per la musica
(Italian) musically inclined
Port à va-et-vient
(French m.) swing door
Port d'armes
(French m.) in the French can-can, turning on one leg, while grasping the other leg by the ankle and holding it almost vertical
Port de bras
(French m., literally 'carriage of the arms') movimento dos braços (Portuguese), in dance, the term port de bras has two meanings:
a movement or series of movements made by passing the arm or arms through various positions. The passage of the arms from one position to another constitutes a port de bras
a term for a group of exercises designed to make the arms move gracefully and harmoniously. In the Cecchetti method there are eight set exercises on port de bras. In the execution of port de bras the arms should move from the shoulder and not from the elbow and the movement should be smooth and flowing. The arms should be softly rounded so that the points of the elbows are imperceptible and the hands must be simple, graceful and never flowery. The body and head should come into play and a suggestion of épaulement should be used. In raising the arms from one position to another the arms must pass through a position known in dancing as the gateway. This position corresponds to the fifth position en avant, Cecchetti method, or the first position, French and Russian Schools. In passing from a high position to a low one, the arms are generally lowered in a line with the sides. Exercises on port de bras can be varied to infinity by combining their basic elements according to the taste of the professor and the needs of the pupil
Port de bras from which this information has been taken
Port de voix
(French m., literally 'carriage of the voice') a vocal portamento
(French m.) an ornament, for example, an appoggiatura (from a note, played on the beat, which is below the written note)
in dance, either to a step which is traveled in the air from one spot to another (such as assemblé dessus porté) or to the carrying of a danseuse by a danseur
Porte-cochère
(French f.) a carriage entrance, a covered passage leading to an internal courtyard
Portée (s), Portées (pl.)
(French f.) stave, staff, Liniensystem (German), rigo (Italian), sistema (Italian)
Portée du bas
(French f.) lower staff
Portée du haut
(French f.) higher staff
porte juste à coté, la
(French) just next door
porter ... à bout de bras
(French) to struggle to keep ... going
porter la voix
(French) to use portamento, to sustain the voice
porter le deuil
(French) to be in mourning
Porte vent
(French) the pipe that conveys wind from the bellows into the sound-board of an organ
Porte voix
(French) an appoggiatura, or beat
Porte-voix
(French m.) bullhorn, loudhailer, megaphone, megafono (Italian m.), Megaphon (German n.), mégaphone (French m.), megáfono (Spanish m.)
Portez la voix
(French) see portando la voce
Portfolio
a collection of student work. The teacher, students, or both may select samples of student work placed in the portfolio. Portfolios may include written, audio, electronic, and/or video formats of a student's work
Portico
(Italian) a roofed arcade supported by pillars (columns) usually along the front of a building
Portiére
(French f.) a curtain hung over a door or doorway the purpose of which is to eliminate draughts
Portmanteau (s.), Portmanteaux (pl.)
(French) a large suitcase or trunk
(something consisting of) a combination of two different things of the same kind (for example, the blending of the sounds and meanings of two different words - 'smog', from 'smoke' and 'fog')
Portmanteau word
another term for linguistic blending
por todo lo alto
(Spanish) in style
Portón
(Spanish m.) large door, front door (main door of a property), gate
Portón de madera
(Spanish m.) wooden gate
Portrait
in printing, an upright, oblong artwork or photograph where vertical dimension is greater than the horizontal (if the long sides are at head and foot the format is termed landscape)
although the term originates from painting and drawing, it is used more generally for an attempt to indicate personality and characteristics through poetry or prose, as well as through the medium of music. Thus, for example, Edward Elgar (1857-1934) dedicated his Variations on an Original Theme for orchestra, Op. 36 ("Enigma") to "my friends pictured within", each variation being an affectionate portrayal of one of his circle of close acquaintances
Portrait en creux
a rhetorical or literary device in which a writer mentions an absence to evoke the counterpart presence. This is the verbal equivalent of "negative space" in sculpture or painting
the result of making a likeness of, the result of a description in words
Portrayer
the one who makes a portrayal
Port Sunlight [1888-present]
founded by W.H. Lever, an influential model village named after the soap whose fortunes it was based on and built round the Lever Bros. factory that was moved from Bolton to a marshy site on the south side of the Mersey in 1888. The first phase of the scheme was completeted by 1897. A second phase of building was carried out in 1911 after further drainage works had been carried out. 30 different architects created a variety of picturesque & romantic style houses. Also a grand boulevard and art gallery along with schools, hospital, gym, social clubs, church and theatre. The village like its contemporary at Bournville was a model for the Garden City & Suburbs movement with W.H.Lever (later Lord Leverhulme.) being a key member of the Garden Cities Association. Also developed model housing on company estates in the Congo and attempted to revive the fishing industry on the Scottish island of Lewis & Harris
Portuguese guitar
in fact it is not a guitar, but rather a twelve string instrument of a family that includes the mandolin and bandurria. Although it emerged in the eighteenth century in imitation of the English guitar (or cittern), its roots lie more in Arabic instruments like the lute or the rebab. It is commonly used to accompany fado
the Portuguese rock scene hit mainstream in 1980 with the release of Ar de Rock by Rui Veloso, which was the first popular Portuguese rock song. Before that, Portugal had a vibrant underground progressive rock scene in the 1970s
or Portunal-flaut, a sweet-toned, clarinet-like open wood stop, where each pipe has a diameter that is larger at the top than at the bottom
por último
(Spanish) finally
Pos, Pos.
abbreviation of Posaune (German: trombone - trombone (French))
Posada
(Spanish f.) an inn or tavern in Spain
Posadas, las
(Spanish, literally 'the inn' or ' the guesthouse') a nine-night series of Mexican Christmas ritual processions commemorating Joseph and Mary's attempt to find lodging in Bethlehem
see aguinaldo
posato
(Italian) quietly, steadily, sedate, dignified
Posaune
(German f.) trombone (English, French m., Italian m.), Posaune (German f.), trombón (Spanish m.)
a reed stop of the trumpet family in the organ, usually 8 ft. pitch in the manuals and 16 ft. pitch on the pedals, although 32 ft. pitch stops are not unknown on the pedal organ
Posaunbläser
(German m.) a trombone player
Posaunenchor (s.), Posaunenchöre (pl.)
(German m.) trombone choir
Posauner
(German m.) a trombone player
Posaunenkonzert
(German n.) trombone concerto
Posaunenspiel
(German n.) trombone playing
Posaunist (m.), Posaunistin (f.)
(German) the trombone player
Posdata
(Spanish f.) postscript
Pose
in ballet, the term used to describe stationary dance positions. The most important are referred to as 'first position', 'second position', etc.
more generally, to pretend to be another person, to assume a certain attitude when being photographed, painted, etc., to put forward or present (an idea, a question), to place a model in a certain attitude, to behave in an affected manner (hence, 'to put on a pose')
Posé
(French) in ballet, a poising of the body by partially transferring the weight to the tow of an outstretched leg
posé (m.), posée (f.)
(French) poised, prudent, cool and collected
Pose de la voix
(French f.) placing of the voice
posément
(French) steadily, without hurrying, sedately, with gravity, soberly, gently, softly, lentement, doucement
poser les premiers jalons de ...
(French) to prepare the ground for ... (figurative), to pave the ground for ... (figurative)
poser sa candidat pour
(French) to apply for
poser une question de but en blanc
(French) to ask a question point-blank
poser un lapin à ...
(French) to stand ... up (fail to turn up for a meeting)
Poseur (m.), Poseuse (f.)
(French) a person given to behaving affectedly
Posición
(Spanish f.) position
Posición fundamental
(Spanish f.) root position (referring to a chord)
Posit
(Latin, literally, to take a position) to assume a fact, to postulate
Positif
(French m.) the Positive or Choir organ, a division of an organ
positif (m.), posititive (f.)
(French) see positiv
Position
(English, German f.) posizione (Italian), Lage (German), position (French), posição (Portuguese)
(English, French f.) on a stringed instrument, where the left hand is placed to play particular notes. On the violin the forefinger stops the tone (whole step) or semitone (half step) above the open (i.e. unstopped) string. Shifting up so that the first finger takes the place formerly occupied by the second finger, the hand is in second position. Further shifting moves the hand into third, fourth, and higher positions. If the second, third and fourth fingers take respectively the position of the first, second and third finger, the hand is said to be in half position
in trombone playing, where the slide is placed to produce certain notes
in harmony, the disposition of the notes of a chord, for example, if the tonic is in the bass, the chord is in '1st, root or fundamental position'. If the third is in the bass then the chord is said to be in 2nd position, and so on
in harmony, the spacing of the notes in a chord where close position is equivalent to close harmony and open position equivalent to open harmony
in dance, called positions des bras (French f., literally 'positions of the arms'), posições dos braços (Portuguese), the formal positions of the arms in classical ballet
the positions of the arms are as follows:
bras bas
fingers of both arms are almost touching to form an oval shape, with both hands just in front of the dancer's hips
demi bras
is formed by lifting both arms to the side at about 45 degrees, palms still facing the ground
demi seconde
is formed by first forming demi bras and then rotating the palms to face the ceiling
first position première position (French) primeira posição (Portuguese)
maintaining this curved oval shape, the arms are brought up so that the tips of the fingers are in line with the navel
second position seconde position (French) segunda posição (Portuguese)
the arms are stretched out to the side, however there is an angle of the arms down and forward, and the palms are facing forward
third position troisième position (French) terceira posição (Portuguese)
a combination of first and second positions, with one arm in second and the other in first
fourth position quatrième position (French) quarta posição (Portuguese)
a combination of first and fifth positions, with one arm in second and the other in fifth
fifth position cinquième position (French) quinta posição (Portuguese)
the best-known position of the arms, this curved position is brought up just above and slightly forward of the dancer's head
in dance, also called cinq positions des pieds (French, literally, 'five positions of the feet'), these were established by Pierre Beauchamp, maître de ballet of the Académie Royale de Musique et de Danse from 1671 to 1687
there are five basic positions of the feet, posições dos pés (Portuguese), in classical ballet, and every step or movement is begun and ended in one or another of these positions:
first position première position (French) primeira posição (Portuguese)
in this position the feet form one line, heels touching one another
second position seconde position (French) segunda posição (Portuguese)
the feet are on the same line but with a distance of about one foot between the heels
third position troisième position (French) terceira posição (Portuguese)
in the third position one foot is in front of the other, heels touching the middle of the other foot
fourth position quatrième position (French) quarta posição (Portuguese)
in the fourth position the placement of the feet is similar to that in the third position, the feet being parallel and separated by the length of one foot. This is the classical fourth position but it may also be done with the feet in the first position, only separated by the space of one foot. The former is known as quatrième position croisée (French: crossed fourth position), while the latter is called quatrième ouverte (open fourth position). Today quatrième position croisée is done with the feet placed as in the fifth position, parallel and separated by the length of one foot, instead of the third position
fifth position cinquième position (French) quinta posição (Portuguese)
in the fifth position, Cecchetti method, the feet are crossed so that the first joint of the big toe shows beyond either heel. In the French and Russian Schools the feet are completely crossed so that the heel of the front foot touches the toe of the back foot and vice versa
little dots on the neck of a guitar which help the player find his or her bearings
Position naturelle
(French f.) bell down (when playing the horn)
Position ouverte
(French f.) open position
Position serree d'un accord
(French f.) close position
Positiv
(German n.) a positive (i.e. stationary) organ as opposed to a portative organ. The term, dating from the nineteenth century, is generally applied to a small chamber organ, often at the back of the organist, hence the German term Rückpositiv. Later, certain sets of pipes (Werke) in large church organs were named Positiv, for example Rückpositiv and Seitenpositiv
(German n.) for Positive, a division of the organ, usually open and bright in sound
positiv
(German) positive
Positive (division)
a grouping of organ pipes similar to the Great division in that it is normally not enclosed, but of considerably lower dynamic level than the Great, usually used in combination with, or in place of, the Choir division, and like the Choir normally played from the bottom manual of a 3-manual organ. The Positiv is frequently located in a case separate from other divisions, and when located behind the console is called Rückpositiv
Positive discrimination
the practice of making distinctions in favour of groups considered to be underprivileged
Positive organ
small, single manual organ used in the Renaissance and Baroque eras
a term used to describe a branch of the punk subculture that emerged around London's Batcave club in the early 1980s which was a precursor to the goth subculture
Positivism
a philosophical system recognizing only facts and observable phenomena
Positivo
(Italian m.) the Positive or Choir division in an organ
Positivwerk
(German n.) also Positiv, Positiv-Werk or Rückpositiv, the Positive or Choir division in an organ
see Positiv
Posizione
(Italian f.) position
Posizione normale
(Italian f.) bell down (when holding a French horn)
Pós-modernismo
(Portuguese) post-modernism
Posology
the pharmacological determination of appropriate doses of drugs and medicines
Posse
an abbreviation of posse comitatus (Latin: the force of the country), a force assuming quasi-legal authority, usually on a temporary basis
Posse
(German f., literally 'farce') while most closely associated with late eighteenth-century, early nineteenth-century Vienna, Posse was a popular form of Austro-German theatrical entertainment. Two forms were particularly successful. Lokalposse relied heavily on aspects of the place where the farce was being performed. Zauberposse incorporated magic and fantasy into the lives of ordinary people
Posse comitatus
or sheriff's posse, the common-law authority of a county sheriff or other law officer to conscript any able-bodied males to assist him in keeping the peace or to pursue and arrest a felon
Posset
hot milk curdled with wine, ale, vinegar or other acid
Possibile
(Italian f.) possible [corrected by Phivos-Angelos Kollias]
possibile
(Italian) possible [corrected by Phivos-Angelos Kollias]
Possible
(English) capable of existing, happening, being done, etc., possibile (Italian), möglich (German), possible (French)
Post
after Milan Postolka the cataloguer of music by Leopold Jan Antonin Kozeluh (1747-1818)
post
(Latin, literally 'after') an indication to refer to something to be found further on in a document, book, etc.
post.
abbreviation of posthum (German), 'posthumous', posthume (French)
Post and rod
a mechanical method of mounting keys on a wind instrument that employed all metal keywork replacing the block mount with two posts which would support one or more keys. Each pair of posts might be drilled to receive a fulcrum pin like the pin used in the pin in block method or, more commonly, the posts were drilled and one tapped to retain a steel screw that functioned as a pin. Instead of drilling a hole through the key for a pin, a larger hole was made to accommodate a hinge tube or hinge rod that was inserted and soldered through it to rotate either on a pin or screw, or between two short, steeply tapered pivot screws in the posts. By increasing the effective width of the key pivot, the hinge tube improved stability and alignment. It also permitted easy repair of misalignment resulting from lateral wear by the technique of stretching the hinge tube over its pin with swedging pliers. If stretched too far, the original hinge tube or a replacement could be quickly adjusted with a hinge tube end cutter
Post bellum
(Latin) after the war
Postdate
give a date later than the actual one to (a document etc.), to follow in time
Poste
(French f.) post, post office
Poste aérienne
(French f.) airmail
Poste de pilotage
(French f.) cockpit (of an aircraft)
Poste de police
(French f.) police station
Poste de secours
(French f.) first-aid post
Poste d'essence
(French f.) petrol or gas station
Poste d'incendie
(French f.) fire point
Poste restante
(French f.) a department of the post office in which letters are kept until called for
Postérieur
(French m.) posterior (familiar)
postérieur
(French) later, back
postérieur à
(French) after
Postérité
(French f.) posterity
Postern
small gate or entrance at the back of a building, especially a castle or a fort
Post-facto
(English, from Latin) after the event, retrospectively (formed from the phrase ex post facto)
Post factum
(Latin) after the fact
posth.
abbreviation of 'posthumous(ly)'
Post hoc
(Latin) after this
Post hoc, ergo propter hoc
(Latin) the fallacy, as stated by the ancients, that successive events must be causally related
Posthorn
(English, German n.) or, in English, post-boy's horn, a brass wind-instrument, corno di postiglione (Italian m.), Posthorn (German n.), cor de postillion (French m.)
country
name
form
description
Continental (seventeenth century)
Posthorn
generally only one small coil, about seven inches in diameter
played only two notes, each an octave apart
Continental (late 18th- & early 19th-centuries)
Posthorn
circular, coiled up to three times
usually in the key of F (but Eb, Bb, and C were also used) and could play up to the eighth harmonic. The Posthorn was used by Mozart in the Serenade K320 and also in the Deutsche Tanz K605 no.3, which calls for Posthorns in Bb and F. When Mozart extracted three movements from his Post Horn Serenade to create his Post Horn Symphony, he left out the minuet that called for a post horn
France
post horn cornet, cornet simple, cornet ordinaire, cornet de post or petite trompette aiguë
coiled
a conical instrument with a three-octave range and no pedal, although by 1820 the instrument had crooks and a tuning slide. By 1825, the instrument even had keys
Germany
Posthorn
coiled
a cylindrical instrument (in Ab, an octave lower than the English instrument in Ab) with a four-octave range and no pedal. By 1820, the Posthorn had crooks and a tuning slide. Even though by then the most common pitch in Germany was F, the C Posthorn was used by Beethoven in Deutsche Tanz WoO8 no.12, and the one in F was used by Spohr in Nottorno op.34 for military band. Some post horns also had a hole to transpose the instrument up from F to Bb
England
coach horn
straight
straight, copper, thirty-six inches long (in high F), sometimes built in three telescoping sections
England
coach horn
straight
straight, copper, forty-six inches long (in C), sometimes built in three telescoping sections
England
post horn
straight
brass, twenty-eight inches long (in Ab, one octave higher than the continental Ab Posthorn) (built in two sections). It often had a tuning joint midway up the horn and could only easily play up to the fourth or fifth harmonic. It was still manufactured in the twentieth century and used in performances of Koenig's Post Horn Galop (1844)
England
post horn
straight
brass, thirty-six inches long (in high F)
Italy
cornetta di postiglione
coiled
Posthorn
a piece of music in imitation of the notes played on a posthorn
posthume
(French) posthumous
Posthumous
published after the author's death
Postiche
(from the French meaning 'false') something added to something complete, for example, something superfluous or inappropriate that has been applied to a sculpture or piece of architecture
something copied or derived from an original
something artificial or counterfeit, for example, a fake book
the term is used for a hairpiece used to disguise the thinness of the natural hair, a wig, a switch, a toupe or toupee
postiche
(French) fasle
Postier (m.), Postière (f.)
(French) postal worker
Postil
see 'apostil'
Postlude
also Nachspiel, anything played after another generally larger piece
a section for the piano alone, played at the end of German Lieder
a voluntary played on the organ at the end of a church service
Postludium
(German n., Latin) postlude
Post meridiem
(Latin) after midday, p.m. (between noon and midnight)
Postmodern dance
a twentieth-century concert dance form. A reaction to the compositional and presentation constraints of modern dance, postmodern dance hailed the use of everyday movement as valid performance art and advocated novel methods of dance composition
broadly and variously defined, postmodernism refers to a specific period of time that began in the 1940s, a style of literature, architecture, art philosophy, or the plight of Western society in post-capitalist age. This movement encompasses a set of critical and rhetorical practices employing concepts such as difference, repetition, and hyperreality to break apart or deconstruct other the structural elements achieved through modernism, including temporality, presence, identity, historical progress, epistemic certainty, and meaning achieved through unity (extract taken from Contemporary Philosophy - Postmodernism and Critical Theory which offers valuable references and commentary)
also 'post-modernism' or 'post-modernity', in the spirit of Dadism, exemplified by Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), and the work of Edgar Varese (1883-1965), post-modernity is a response to modernism, which asserts that the products of human activity - particularly manufactured or created by artifice - are the central subject for art itself, and that the purpose of art is to focus people's attention on objects for contemplation, as composer-critic Steve Hicken explained it. However, post-modernity asserts that this is the primary mode of human existence, an individual floating, if not sinking, in a sea of the products of people
(Latin, 'after death') the autopsy performed to determine cause of death, but also a discussion that follows some event recently concluded
Posto
(Italian m.) place, seat
Posto a sedere
(Italian m.) seat, place
Post obitum
(Latin) or post obit, after death, for example, a bond payable on the death of a named person
Posto in piedi
(Italian m.) standing-room
Post partum
(Latin) after childbirth
Postpositive
a function word - often a preposition - that must come after its object rather than before it. By definition, a postpositive word or phrase cannot begin a sentence. Several words in Latin and Greek are postpositives
the general term for all stages of film production happening between the actual filming and the completed film. These typically include editing the picture, editing the soundtrack and writing and recording the soundtrack music
a music genre firmly rooted in the indie scene, although its elusive and complex style bears little resemblence musically to indie rock or other styles more commonly associated with the scene
a 'page description language' (PDL) developed by Adobe, which describes the contents and layout of a page. PostScript also serves as a programming language whereby the PostScript code is executed by a PostScript RIP in the output device in order to produce a printout or film containing the page
Postscript
see postscriptum
Post scriptum (s.), post scripta (pl.)
(Latin, 'after what has been written') postscript (English), abbreviated to p.s., something written below the signature of a letter or document. A second addition might be headed p.p.s. (Latin: post post scriptum)
Post-scriptum
(French m.) postscript
postserielle Musik
(German f.) post-serial music
Post-structuralism
a collective and loose term for any of the literary theories appearing after the structuralist movement in linguistics - including Derrida's infamous concept of 'deconstruction'
(English, French f.) relative position of parts, esp. of the body, carriage, bearing
(English) mental attitude
Postwar
occuring or existing after a war
postwendend
(German) by return of post
Postwertzeichen
(German n.) (postage) stamp
Pot
see 'potentiometer
(French m.) a woman's hat resembling an inverted flower-pot or similar vessel
Potage
(French m.) soup
Potamology
the scientific study of rivers
Pot au feu
(French m.) in cooking, boiled beef in broth
Pote
Brazilian clay drum derived from the Nigerian udu drum
Poteen
(Irish) a strong spirit brewed in Ireland in illicit stills
Potentiometer
(English, German n.) or, in English, 'pot', one of the most common uses for modern low-power potentiometers is as audio control devices. Both sliding pots (also known as faders) and rotary potentiometers (commonly called knobs) are regulary used to adjust loudness, frequency attenuation and other characteristics of audio signals
(Finnish, literally 'kick mazurka') the dance name refers to the kicking action of the open mazurka step
Potlatch
(Native peoples of Northwestern America and British Columbia) a community gathering to honour the host or to celebrate family events, such as births and marriages, an occasion for dancing
Pot-pourri
(French m., literally 'rotten pot') a mixture of dried flower-petals and spices kept in a jar to provide a source of perfume for a room or other indoor space, (for example, a drawer or closet)
(French m.) a stew of various kinds of meats and spices
(French m.) a capriccio, medley or fantasia, a musical work made up of popular tunes or favourite airs
Pot quarto
see 'quarto'
Pou
after Arthur Pougin, the cataloguer of music by Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824)
Pouce
(French m.) thumb
Pouder blanch
(in medieval cooking) ground ginger blended with powdered sugar
Pouder douce
(in medieval cooking) probably ground sweet aromatic spices such as aniseed, fennel seed, and nutmeg; there is no indication that these spices were blended with sugar
Pouder fort
(in medieval cooking) probably ground ginger or a blend of cinnamon and mace; the blend may have included any of the pungent spices such as cubeb, pepper, or clove
Pouf
(French m.) sometimes mis-spelt pouffe, a low seat consisting of a case of leather or cloth completely filled with kapok or some other stuffing
Poulaine
the style of footwear which had an extended or exaggerated length at the toes. As the fashion was said to be most extreme in Poland, the English versions were termed 'Krackows' after the Polish city of that name
Poule
(French f.) hen
(French f.) a girl-friend, a woman of doubtful character
Poule de luxe
(French f.) a high-class girl-friend, a mistress maintained in luxury
Poule, la
(French f.) the third figure and movement of a quadrille
Poulet
(French m.) chicken
(French m.) a love-letter, a note of assignation, billet-doux
Poult-de-soie
(French) a fine corded silk (a corruption of paduasoy, literally 'associated with Padua', which was noted for its manufacture of silk)
Poumons
(French m. pl.) lungs
Pound, Ezra (1885-1972)
born in Idaho and raised in Pennsylvania, Ezra Pound spent most of his life in Europe and became one of the twentieth century's most influential -- and controversial -- poets in the English language
"If I were not tone deaf," Ezra Pound once told an acquaintance, "I might have enjoyed composing music." All banter aside about his insensitivity to musical pitch, Pound's flippant admission had more than a grain of truth to it: his tin ear for music is now as legendary as his brilliant ear for prosody. Of his singing voice he once told James Joyce that he possessed "the organ of a tree toad." William Carlos Williams once commented that "Ezra couldn't even carry a tune," while W. B. Yeats declared Pound beyond tone deaf, claiming he sounded when he sang rather like "something on a very bad phonograph." Once when a visitor asked Dorothy Pound about the "the puzzling sound of a typewriter and what seemed the yowling of a
bass Siamese cat" emanating from the study, she explained that it was her husband: "He always does that when he's working." His deficiency in tonal precision aside, Pound was not entirely without musical experience. While his formal training was not extensive he was exposed to a variety of musical perspectives from an early age, both his parents were amateur musicians and Pound himself studied the bassoon for a while and learned to play the clavichord "quite fluidly." As an adult he befriended many accomplished musicians and composers including American expatriate composer George Antheil and the British early-music pioneer Arnold Dolmetsch. Pound's friendship with Antheil would put him near the center of the musical world of the avant-garde during the 1920s and 1930s, while the influence of Dolmetsch would kindle Pound's enduring interest in the music of the medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. Add to this the three years Pound spent in London as a music critic for the The New Age, the influence of his lifelong mistress Olga Rudge (a concert violinist), and a desire to champion the obscure in music (a series of concerts Pound organized in Italy in the 1930s were among the first to bring the music of Vivaldi to the public's attention) and the portrait of a poet who has immersed himself in the study of music very quickly emerges
Ezra Pound owned a clavichord made for him by Arnold Dolmetsch
having much power or influence, robusto (Italian), mächtig (German), fort (French)
Powerhouse
person or thing of great energy
Power noise
also known as powernoise, rhythmic noise, "noize" and occasionally as distorted beat music, a subgenre of industrial music that takes its inspiration from some of the more structured and distorted early industrial acts
Power noise from which this extract has been taken
Power pop
a long-standing musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop music. Musically the style is characterized by strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements and prominent guitar riffs, with instrumental solos kept to a minimum, and blues elements largely downplayed
or PTE, a guitar tablature/standard notation editor and creator for Windows-based systems, utilizing MIDI playback to generate scores similar to those found in many guitar publications. It is designed as a freeware guitar tab that one can play along to as practice for learning songs and is also used, albeit to a lesser extent, as software for music creation. It incorporates both a treble score, for acoustic and electric guitar, and a bass score for bass guitar
in rock music, an ensemble made up of electric guitar, electric bass guitar and drum kit
Power violence
or powerviolence, a sub-genre of grindcore, thrashcore, and hardcore punk, generally played at a frantic speed, often employing blast beats, and expressing frenzied rage
