Dictionary

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

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.
The measure or beat of movement.
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.
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.
(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.
(music) A cadenza, or closing embellishment; a pause before the end of a strain, which the performer may fill with a flight of fancy.
(speech) A fall in inflection of a speaker’s voice, such as at the end of a sentence.
(dance) A dance move which ends a phrase.
The cadence in a galliard step refers to the final leap in a cinquepace sequence.
(fencing) The rhythm and sequence of a series of actions.
(running) The number of steps per minute.
(cycling) The number of revolutions per minute of the cranks or pedals of a bicycle.
(military) A chant that is sung by military personnel while running or marching; a jody call.
(heraldry) Cadency.
(horse-riding) Harmony and proportion of movement, as in a well-managed horse.
(horseracing) The number of strides per second of a racehorse, measured when the same foot/hoof strikes the ground
(software development) The frequency of regular product releases.