Meanings
plural passacaglias · alternative passacaille · alternative passecaille
- countableuncountableentertainmentA form of historical Spanish or Italian dance characterised by a serious nature, triple meter, and use of a ground bass.
1 more example
In classical music there are, as the analytical programs tell us, first subjects and second subjects, free fantasias, recapitulations, and codas; there are fugues, with counter-subjects, strettos, and pedal points; there are passacaglias on ground basses, canons ad hypodiapente, and other ingenuities, which have, after all, stood or fallen by their prettiness as much as the simplest folk-tune.
1902 [1898], [George] Bernard Shaw, The Perfect Wagnerite […] , second edition, London: Grant Richards, page 3 - broadlycountableuncountableentertainmentAny piece of classical music with similar characteristics.
Origin
- Spanishpasacalle
- Italianpassacaglia
- Englishpassacaglia
Borrowed from Italian passacaglia, from Spanish pasacalle, from pasar (“to pass”) + calle (“street”).
More words from Italian, Spanish
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan cercavila
- cercavilahistorical Spanish dance
Chinese Mandarin 帕薩卡利亞 /帕萨卡利亚, 帕薩卡里亞 /帕萨卡里亚
- 帕薩卡利亞 /帕萨卡利亚 (pàsàkǎlìyà)historical Spanish dance
- 帕薩卡里亞 /帕萨卡里亚 (pàsàkǎlǐyà)historical Spanish dance
Esperanto pasakaljo
- pasakaljohistorical Spanish dance
Finnish passacaglia
- passacagliahistorical Spanish dance
French passacaille
- passacaillehistorical Spanish dance
German Passacaglia
- Passacagliahistorical Spanish dance
Greek πασσακάλια
- πασσακάλια (passakália)historical Spanish dance
Italian passacaglia
- passacagliahistorical Spanish dance
Japanese パッサカリア
- パッサカリア (passakaria)historical Spanish dance
Korean 파사칼리아
- 파사칼리아 (pasakallia)historical Spanish dance
Latvian pasakalja
- pasakaljahistorical Spanish dance
Romanian passacaglia
- passacagliahistorical Spanish dance
Russian пассака́лья, пассака́лия
- пассака́лья (passakálʹja)historical Spanish dance
- пассака́лия (passakálija)historical Spanish dance
Spanish pasacalle, pasacalles
- pasacallehistorical Spanish dance
- pasacalleshistorical Spanish dance
Tagalog pasakalye
- pasakalyehistorical Spanish dance
Ukrainian пасака́лія
- пасака́лія (pasakálija)historical Spanish dance
Cite this entry
passacaglia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/passacaglia
“passacaglia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/passacaglia. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “passacaglia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/passacaglia.
Source: passacaglia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.