Meanings
nouncantiga (plural cantigas)
plural cantigas
- A medieval monophonic song, sometimes religious, characteristic of the Galician-Portuguese lyric.
The most immediately engaging work here was Roberto Sierra’s “Güell Concert” (2006). Mr. Sierra uses a medieval Spanish cantiga as the work’s motto, but leaps quickly into modern rhythmic and harmonic complexities.
2007 October 1, Allan Kozinn, “Juilliard’s New Semester Starts With New Music”, in New York Times
Origin
- Old Galician-Portuguesecantiga
- Portuguesecantiga
- Englishcantiga
Unadapted borrowing from Portuguese cantiga, from Old Galician-Portuguese cantiga.
More words from Portuguese, Old Galician-Portuguese
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
cantiga. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cantiga
MLA
“cantiga.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cantiga. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cantiga,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cantiga.
Source: cantiga on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.