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melanocyte-stimulating hormone
melanoid
melanoma
melanophore
melanosis
melanosome
melanous
melatonin
Melba sauce
Melba toast
Melbourne
Melbourne Cup
Melchite
Melchizedek
meld (1)
meld (2)
melee
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melisma
me·lis·ma [ mə lízmə ] (plural me·lis·ma·ta [ mə lízmətə ] or me·lis·mas)


noun 
Definition:
 
1. several notes sung on one syllable: a decorative phrase or passage in vocal music, especially one in which one syllable of a plainsong text is sung to a melodic sequence of several notes
2. embellishment of melody: an embellishment or decoration of a melody
3. music 
Same as  cadenza
[Late 19th century. Via modern Latin< Greek, "tune" < melizein "sing" < melos "song"]

mel·is·mat·ic [ mèlliz máttik ] adjective
Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P)2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
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