haute-contre

noun

The highest of the male modal voices (i.e. not a countertenor); it is lower than the female contralto and higher than the tenor. Only specified as a seperate voice part in French Baroque repertoire.

OriginFrench haute-contre →
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Meanings

nounhaute-contre (plural hautes-contre)

plural hautes-contre

  1. baroque music jargonThe highest of the male modal voices (i.e. not a countertenor); it is lower than the female contralto and higher than the tenor. Only specified as a seperate voice part in French Baroque repertoire.

Origin

  1. Frenchhaute-contre
  2. Englishhaute-contre

From French haute-contre.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

haute-contre. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/haute-contre

MLA

“haute-contre.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/haute-contre. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “haute-contre,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/haute-contre.

Source: haute-contre on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.