passacaglia
About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.


pas·sa·ca·glia

noun \ˌpä-sə-ˈkäl-yə, ˌpa-sə-ˈkal-yə\

Definition of PASSACAGLIA

1
a : an old Italian or Spanish dance tune
b : an instrumental musical composition consisting of variations usually on a ground bass in moderately slow triple time
2
: an old dance performed to a passacaglia

Origin of PASSACAGLIA

modification of Spanish pasacalle, from pasar to pass + calle street, from Latin callis path — more at pase
First Known Use: 1659

Browse

Next Word in the Dictionary: passacaille
Previous Word in the Dictionary: passable
All Words Near: passacaglia

Seen & Heard

What made you want to look up passacaglia? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Name That Thing

Take Our 10-Question Quiz

Get Our Free Apps
Voice Search, Favorites,
Word of the Day, and More
Join Us on FB & Twitter
Get the Word of the Day and More