cadence

cadence · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ḱad-e-“to fall”
2. Proto-Italic · derived from*kadō
3. Latin · derived from*cadentia
4. Old Italian · derived fromcadenza“conclusion of a phrase of music”
5. Middle French · borrowed fromcadence
6. English todaycadence

Borrowed from Middle French cadence, from Old Italian cadenza (“conclusion of a phrase of music”), from Latin *cadentia (literally “a falling”), form of cadēns, the present participle of cadō (“to fall, to cease”). The Latin verb is inherited, via Proto-Italic *kadō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱad-e- (“to fall”, thematic present). Doublet of cadenza and chance.

Cadence · proper noun²

From the word cadence.

Words from the same roots