noun
- Music.
- a melody or counterpoint accompanying a simple musical theme and usually written above it.
- (in part music) the soprano.
- a song or melody.
- a variation upon anything; comment on a subject.
adjective
- Music (chiefly British ).
- soprano: a descant recorder.
- treble: a descant viol.
verb (used without object)
- Music. to sing.
- to comment or discourse at great length.
noun (ˈdɛskænt, ˈdɪs-)
- Also: discant a decorative counterpoint added above a basic melody
- a comment, criticism, or discourse
adjective (ˈdɛskænt, ˈdɪs-)
- Also: discant of or pertaining to the highest member in common use of a family of musical instrumentsa descant recorder
verb (dɛsˈkænt, dɪs-) (intr)
- Also: discant (often foll by on or upon) to compose or perform a descant (for a piece of music)
- (often foll by on or upon) to discourse at length or make varied comments
late 14c., from Old North French descant (Old French deschant), from Medieval Latin discantus “refrain, part-song,” from Latin dis- “asunder, apart” (see dis-) + cantus “song” (see chant). Spelling was partly Latinized 16c. Originally “counterpoint.”
mid-15c.; see descant (n.). Sense of “to comment at length” is first attested 1640s.