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Canorous — Melodious or To Sing
My new word of the week is canorous.
What Does it Mean?
It describes a melodious pleasant sound. Think of your favorite song or the sweet bird song in the morning. Any sound that is lyrical, tuneful and harmonious is canorous.
Example:
The choir’s canorous rendition of a love song stunned the audience.
A Linguistic Time Line
The earliest documented use of canorous dates back to 1646. This is the period when French, Latin, Greek and Italian influenced English and is thought of as the Early Modern English period. The era stretches from 1500 AD to around the 1800 AD.
Fun fact: This was the time of Shakespeare who lived between April 1564 and April 1616.
The use of canorous in the English language peaked in the early 1800’s and held its own for most of that century. With exception of a little spurt of interest in the early 1900’s, it has steadily disappeared in the 2000’s.
A Poem — A Canorous Flock of Feathers
The v-shaped flock drifts silently across the sky
Until,
One member ignites a sound.
