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n. 1. The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre. 2. Vocal or instrumental sounds possessing a degree of melody, harmony, or rhythm. 3. a. A musical composition. b. The written or printed score for such a composition. c. Such scores considered as a group: We keep our music in a stack near the piano. 4. A musical accompaniment. 5. A particular category or kind of music. 6. An aesthetically pleasing or harmonious sound or combination of sounds: the music of the wind in the pines. [Middle English musike, from Old French musique, from Latin mūsica, from Greek mousikē (tekhnē), (art) of the Muses, feminine of mousikos, of the Muses, from Mousa, Muse; see men-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
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