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ca·dence (kādns)
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n. pl. ca·denc·es
1. Balanced, rhythmic flow, as of poetry or oratory.
2.
a. The measure or beat of movement, as in dancing or marching.
b. A rhythmic chant, often in call-and-response form, used by soldiers to keep in step when marching or running.
3.
a. A falling inflection of the voice, as at the end of a sentence.
b. General inflection or modulation of the voice.
4. Music A progression of chords moving to a harmonic close, point of rest, or sense of resolution.
[Middle English, from Old French *cadence, from Old Italian cadenza, from Vulgar Latin *cadentia, a falling, from Latin cadēns, cadent-, present participle of cadere, to fall; see kad- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
cadenced adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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