I. ˈmelədē, -di noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English melodie, from Old French, from Late Latin melodia, from Greek melōidia chanting, singing, choral song, music, from melos limb, musical phrase, melody, song + -ōidia (from aeidein to sing); akin to Breton mell joint, articulation, Cornish mel, Welsh cy mal joint, articulation, Tocharian A & Tocharian B mälk to fit together, Sanskrit marman limb of the body — more at ode
1. : a sweet or agreeable succession or arrangement of sounds : musical quality tunefulness
lulled with sound of sweetest melody — Shakespeare
2.
a.
(1) : a rhythmically organized and meaningful succession of single musical notes or tones having a definite relationship one with the other and forming an esthetic whole
(2) : the melodic unit so formed
b. : a musical line as it appears on the staff when viewed horizontally — compare harmony , rhythm
c. : the chief or principal part in a harmonic composition (as the cantus firmus)
3. : something (as color in a painting) likened to or exhibiting a quality suggestive of musical melody
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
intransitive verb
: to make melody : sing
transitive verb
: to make melody of