Meanings
present singular third person cantillates · participle present cantillating · participle past cantillated · past cantillated
- To chant, or to recite musically (especially in a synagogue).
Some recite this portion by cantillating each verse twice and then saying the Targum.
1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 2641 more example
Five women [in the Temple of Vesta ...] were cantillating—Vesta this and Vesta that—all robed in identical white dresses, with white wool scarves wrapped several times about their heads.
2025 January 7, Lauren J. A. Bear, Mother of Rome, Penguin Group, →ISBN, page 97
Synonyms & antonyms
verbrecite with musical intonation; recite as a chant or a psalm
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latincantillō“to sing”
- Englishcantillate
First attested in 1864; borrowed from Latin cantillō (“to sing”), from cantillātus + -ō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French cantiller
- cantillerto chant or recite musically
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
cantillate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cantillate
“cantillate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cantillate. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cantillate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cantillate.
Source: cantillate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.