cadence Meaning, Definition & Usage

Ca"dence noun

Etymology

OE. cadence, cadens, LL. cadentia a falling, fr. L. cadere to fall; cf. F. cadence, It. cadenza. See Chance.

Definitions

1. The act or state of declining or sinking. Obs.

   Now was the sun in western cadence low. Milton.

2. A fall of the voice in reading or speaking, especially at the end of a sentence.
3. A rhythmical modulation of the voice or of any sound; as, music of bells in cadence sweet.

   Blustering winds, which all night long Had roused the sea, now with hoarse cadence lull Seafaring men o'erwatched. Milton.

   The accents . . . were in passion's tenderest cadence. Sir W. Scott.

4. Rhythmical flow of language, in prose or verse.

   Golden cadence of poesy. Shak.

   If in any composition much attention was paid to the flow of the rhythm, it was said (at least in the 14th and 15th centuries) to be "prosed in faire cadence." Dr. Guest.

5. (Her.) See Cadency.
6. (Man.) Harmony and proportion in motions, as of a well-managed horse.
7. (Mil.) A uniform time and place in marching.
8. (Mus.) (a) The close or fall of a strain; the point of rest, commonly reached by the immediate succession of the tonic to the dominant chord. (b) A cadenza, or closing embellishment; a pause before the end of a strain, which the performer may fill with a flight of fancy.

Ca"dence transitive verb

Definitions

1. To regulate by musical measure.

   These parting numbers, cadenced by my grief. Philips.