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Blood is the leitmotif of 'Black Swan.'
Robert Gottlieb

Meaning of "leitmotif" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD LEITMOTIF

From German leitmotiv leading motif.
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF LEITMOTIF

leitmotif  [ˈlaɪtməʊˌtiːf] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF LEITMOTIF

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Leitmotif is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES LEITMOTIF MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Leitmotif

A leitmotif /ˌlaɪtmoʊˈtiːf/ is a "short, constantly recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of idée fixe or motto-theme. The term itself is an anglicization of the German Leitmotiv, literally meaning "leading motif", or perhaps more accurately, "guiding motif". A musical motif has been defined as a "short musical idea ... melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic, or all three", a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition: "the smallest structural unit possessing thematic identity." In particular, such a motif should be "clearly identified so as to retain its identity if modified on subsequent appearances" whether such modification be in terms of rhythm, harmony, orchestration or accompaniment. It may also be "combined with other leitmotifs to suggest a new dramatic condition" or development. The technique is notably associated with the operas of Richard Wagner, although he was not its originator and did not employ the word in connection with his work.

Definition of leitmotif in the English dictionary

The definition of leitmotif in the dictionary is a recurring short melodic phrase or theme used, esp in Wagnerian music dramas, to suggest a character, thing, etc. Other definition of leitmotif is an often repeated word, phrase, image, or theme in a literary work.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH LEITMOTIF


aperitif
əˌperɪˈtiːf
beef
biːf
belief
bɪˈliːf
brief
briːf
chief
tʃiːf
disbelief
ˌdɪsbɪˈliːf
editor-in-chief
ˌɛdɪtəʳɪntˈʃiːf
grief
ɡriːf
leaf
liːf
lief
liːf
massif
ˈmæsiːf
metif
ˈmeɪtiːf
motif
məʊˈtiːf
reef
riːf
reif
riːf
relief
rɪˈliːf
sharif
ʃæˈriːf
sportif
spɔːˈtiːf
Tenerife
ˌtɛnəˈriːf
thief
θiːf

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE LEITMOTIF

leishmaniasis
leishmaniosis
leisler
leister
leisurable
leisurably
leisure
leisure centre
leisure complex
leisure industry
leisure occupations
leisure sickness
leisure suit
leisure time
leisured
leisureliness
leisurely
leisurewear

WORDS THAT END LIKE LEITMOTIF

alif
as if
calif
deif
digestif
if
kaif
kharif
kif
Mazar-e-Sharif
Mazar-i-Sharif
only if
positif
Rif
sans serif
seif
serif
sherif
what if
what-if

Synonyms and antonyms of leitmotif in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «LEITMOTIF»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «leitmotif» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of leitmotif
idea · melody · motif · phrase · strain · theme

Translation of «leitmotif» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF LEITMOTIF

Find out the translation of leitmotif to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of leitmotif from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «leitmotif» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

主旋律
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

leitmotif
570 millions of speakers

English

leitmotif
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

लैत्मोटिव
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

فكرة مهيمنة
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

лейтмотивом
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

leitmotif
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

মূল সুর হিসেবে ধ্বনিত
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

leitmotiv
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Leitmotif
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Leitmotiv
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

ライトモチーフ
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

주악상
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Leitmotif
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

nét chủ đạo
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

லெத்மொதிப்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

लीटमोटीफ
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

nakarat
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

leitmotif
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

motywem przewodnim
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

лейтмотивом
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

laitmotiv
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

κύριο θέμα
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

leitmotief
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

leitmotif
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

ledemotiv
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of leitmotif

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «LEITMOTIF»

The term «leitmotif» is regularly used and occupies the 80.752 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Regularly used
63
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «leitmotif» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of leitmotif
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «leitmotif».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «LEITMOTIF» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «leitmotif» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «leitmotif» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about leitmotif

EXAMPLES

QUOTES WITH «LEITMOTIF»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word leitmotif.
1
Robert Gottlieb
Blood is the leitmotif of 'Black Swan.'

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «LEITMOTIF»

Discover the use of leitmotif in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to leitmotif and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Heidegger and Homecoming: The Leitmotif in the Later Writings
Frequently, Heidegger used the motifs of homelessness and homecoming in order to express such spatial interactions, and despite early and continued recognition of the importance of homelessness and homecoming, this is the first sustained ...
Robert Mugerauer, 2008
2
Changing Tunes: The Use of Pre-existing Music in Film
However, in these and other films, the popular song leitmotif draws upon levels of audience competence different from that of the classical film score. What follows is a brief investigation of the leitmotif and the adaptation of the concept to the ...
Phil Powrie, Robynn Jeananne Stilwell, 2006
3
Movie Music, the Film Reader
The. leitmotif. Cinema music is still patched together by means of leitmotifs, The ease with which they are recalled provides definite clues for the listener, and they also are a practical help to the composer in his task of composition under ...
Kay Dickinson, 2003
4
Settling the Score: Music and the Classical Hollywood Film
50 The most typical though not the only method to accomplish an overall unity was the use of the leitmotif. (Chapter 6 is devoted to the analysis of Bernard Herrmann's score for The Magnificent Ambersons which offers another possibility .) ...
Kathryn Kalinak, 1992
5
The New Grove Guide to Wagner and His Operas
The word 'leitmotif' is from the German Leitmotiv meaning 'leading motif': a term adopted by early commentators on Wagner's music dramas to highlight what they believed to be the most important feature con- tributing to comprehensibility and ...
Barry Millington, 2006
6
Overtones and Undertones: Reading Film Music
Set free from having to compose extended melodies to be sung by the characters of the drama, Korngold employs what might be termed a compressed or condensed leitmotif structure, unique to film scoring, in which the bulk of the musical ...
Royal S. Brown, 1994
7
Shostakovich Studies
That all suggests a less conscious and systematic approach on the composer's part than a strict usage of 'leitmotif would seem to allow. Also we have to remember that the term was coined partly to stress the leading function of such motifs in ...
David Fanning, 2006
8
Music and Cinema
Demythification does not save the leitmotif, but simply reveals its poverty. As Adorno notes, leitmotifs rarely serve as anything more than musical calling cards in film: 'Via the ingenious illustrative technique of Richard Strauss, [the degeneration ...
James Buhler, Caryl Flinn, David Neumeyer, 2000
9
Literary Essays
All such reductions, by showing how Wagners motivic practice situates dramatic action within a primarily symphonic form, have some instructive value; yet they tend to place the leitmotif too definitively within the category of "absolute music," ...
Ernst Bloch, 1998
10
Ilan Eshkeri's Stardust: A Film Score Guide
note, and Septimus's leitmotif can be seen as a variation of Una's in retrograde. — “.1 1 1 1- 1 '1'! J an Ir; J IF I 1 11 1|: : 1: 1:1 ~P it Figure 5.24. The “Septimus” leitmotif The leitmotif was first scored by Eshkeri at the start of cue 4I\'I37, where ...
Ian Sapiro, 2013

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «LEITMOTIF»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term leitmotif is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Celtic beats of fun &dance - The Tribune
Energetic, colourful, speedy renditions called Reels (4/4, 2/4) and Jigs (6/8) form the leitmotif repertoire of most performances. Other styles of ... «Chandigarh Tribune, Jul 15»
2
Better With Age: Final Fantasy VI - Destructoid
For those who don't know, leitmotif is a “short, constantly recurring musical phrase that is associated with a place, event, or character”. «Destructoid, Jul 15»
3
A Point of View: The guilty thrill of reading other people's mail - BBC …
They were also touched by the leitmotif of all digital age communication undertaken by those past 50, and that is confusion about digital age ... «BBC News, Jul 15»
4
Eichler Home
But the luscious red on the front door and on a long wall that flowed from outside to inside became the leitmotif in the house: on throw pillows in ... «OCRegister, Jul 15»
5
Nuclear winter? The natural kind is bad enough
(Leitmotif: cold. Feel chilly yet?) It seems that what's now Wapusk National Park in the subarctic Manitoba tundra was almost the site for postwar ... «Austin American-Statesman, Jul 15»
6
Share “A new 'Vacation' aims to blaze a fresh...”
The soundtrack features multiple versions of Lindsey Buckingham's “Holiday Road,” the original's musical leitmotif. There is a nod to the ... «NewsOK.com, Jul 15»
7
Classical Music As Soundtrack To Our Lives
What I will focus on is the film's perfectly selected musical leitmotif, Brahms' soul-searching “Intermezzo, Opus 118 #2.” During some of his ... «Texas Public Radio, Jul 15»
8
Another tack: Like a hunk of clay - Opinion - Jerusalem Post
But as early as in 2007, sensitive ears could pick up the leitmotif of Obama's serenade to Tehran. It became unmissable in 2009 when, ... «Jerusalem Post Israel News, Jul 15»
9
What's It All About?, Menier Chocolate Factory | Theatre reviews …
Loss is the abiding leitmotif here, as evidenced especially succinctly by "A House Is Not a Home", a song about solitude which finds an ... «The Arts Desk, Jul 15»
10
MK Bhadrakumar responds to David Goldman | Asia Times
Given the Erdogan government's nexus with the Anatolian tigers, I anticipate that trade and economic ties will be the leitmotif of the Turkish ... «Asia Times, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Leitmotif [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/leitmotif>. Apr 2024 ».
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