cadence
see also: Cadence
Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French cadence, from roa-oit cadenza, from Latin *cadentia, form of cadēns, the present participle of cadō.

Pronunciation
  • IPA: /ˈkeɪ.dn̩s/
Noun

cadence

  1. The act or state of declining or sinking.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC ↗:
      Now was the sun in western cadence low.
  2. The measure or beat of movement.
  3. Balanced, rhythmic flow.
    • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour's Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act IV, scene ii]:
      You find not the apostrophas, and so miss the accent:
      let me supervise the canzonet. Here are only numbers ratified;
      but, for the elegancy, facility, and golden cadence of poesy,
      caret.
  4. The general inflection or modulation of the voice, or of any sound.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC ↗:
      Blustering winds, which all night long / Had roused the sea, now with hoarse cadence lull / Seafaring men o'erwatched.
    • 1815 February 23, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC ↗:
      The accents […] were in passion's tenderest cadence.
  5. (music) A progression of at least two chords which conclude a piece of music, section or musical phrases within it. Sometimes referred to analogously as musical punctuation.
  6. (music) A cadenza, or closing embellishment; a pause before the end of a strain, which the performer may fill with a flight of fancy.
  7. (speech) A fall in inflection of a speaker’s voice, such as at the end of a sentence.
  8. (dance) A dance move which ends a phrase.
    The cadence in a galliard step refers to the final leap in a cinquepace sequence.
  9. (fencing) The rhythm and sequence of a series of actions.
  10. (running) The number of steps per minute.
  11. (cycling) The number of revolutions per minute of the cranks or pedals of a bicycle.
  12. (military) A chant that is sung by military personnel while running or marching; a jody call.
  13. (heraldry) Cadency.
  14. (horse-riding) Harmony and proportion of movement, as in a well-managed horse.
  15. (horseracing) The number of strides per second of a racehorse, measured when the same foot/hoof strikes the ground
  16. (software development) The frequency of regular product releases.
Synonyms Related terms Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • German: Rhythmus, Pedaltakt, Trittfrequenz
  • Portuguese: pedalagem
  • Russian: каденс
Translations Verb

cadence (cadences, present participle cadencing; simple past and past participle cadenced)

  1. (transitive) To give a cadence to.
  2. (transitive) To give structure to.

Cadence
Etymology

From the word cadence.

Proper noun
  1. A female given name.



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