Glossary: A-C
Glossary: D-F
Glossary: G-J
Glossary: L-M
Glossary: N-P
Glossary: R-V
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introduction to the Glossary of French Terms
Glossary, part 4
Largement
Léger,_légèrement
Lent,_lentement
Lié Lourd,_lourdement
Lourer
Majestueusement Marqué
Mesure,_mesuré
Modéré Mouvement
Largement (broadly, freely, generously, boldly)
Large [adj.: "broad, wide, generous"] Used
figuratively: Doctors of theology whose morals are lax are said to have moral
that are large. ... [It is used in the same sense about feelings that
are not strict or constricting.]... It is also applied to someone who
unnecessarily hurries someone else: "Relax, the countryside is large,"
which means that one is in a situation where one can take one's time. —
Furetière, 1690, with bracketed phrases added in 1702
— Applied to painting has the same significance for the mechanical
aspects of the art as the word "grand" has for the parts of that art
that are within the competence of the esprit. ... The opposite of
large is mesquin [petty, skimpy]. — DAF, 1694
— In painting is the opposite of mesquin. ... Painting
large or largement means using wide brushstrokes, not putting
too much detail in to the small parts of the objects painted, and in uniting
them into large masses of light and shadow that give all these varied parts,
and consequently the whole, a certain speciousness that makes it appear more
vast than it really is. — Trévoux, 1771
Largement [adv.: "broadly"] Fully, entirely.
— Richelet, 1681
— Abundantly, as much as and more than necessary. — DAF,
1694
— See vivace, animato, etc. — Brossard, 1703
Léger, légèrement
(light; lightly,
flippantly, impulsively)
Léger, légère [adj.: "light,
nimble, agile"]: Dancers and acrobats must be léger and fit
in every limb. ... This musician has a hand that is léger when
playing instruments. — Furetière, 1690
— Weighing little. ... Also means nimble and agile: "A foot that
is léger. ... Is said of a person who sings in a manner that
is aisé and who moves through cadences [in the sense
of "rhythms"] easily: "She has a voice that is légère.
— DAF, 1694
— Is also said of a harpsichordist or organist: "His hand is
léger." — DAF, 1762
— In architecture, a work that is léger is one
with a great deal of open-work and whose beauty consists of using a minimum
of materials. It is also said in sculpture about the delicate ornaments that
come closest to Nature and that are very elaborate, hollowed-out and imaginative,
for example the leaves on the finest capitals. ... Is said figuratively about
things that are frivolous, unimportant, insubstantial, superficial. —
Furetière, 1702
Légèreté [n.: "lightness"]:
Agility, finesse. ... Is said when speaking of a writing master who
writes with great aise and very quickly: "His hand has great
légèreté." Is also said of an instrumentalist
whose performance is extremely aisé and brilliant. — DAF,
1694
Légèrement [adv.: "lightly"]:
With légèreté, in a manner that is
léger. — DAF, 1694
— See allegro, leggiandro, brillante, vivace, etc. —
Brossard, 1703
— In a manner that is léger. ... It also means
rapidly, with agility. ... Also means superficially, as if casually, and
weakly: "To touch upon a subject légèrement." ... Also
means inconsiderately, imprudently, without judgment, without reason. —
Furetière, 1727
— This word means a tempo that is even faster than gai,
a tempo that is midway between gai and vite [quickly]. It is
roughly equivalent to the Italian vivace. — Rousseau, 1768
— Some young courtiers have given this word a very different
meaning from the one commonly used. In the expression: "He has an esprit
léger, " one usually means that the person about whom one is speaking
has an esprit that is fickle and not very judicious. However, among
young courtiers, this [word] means that his esprit is vif and
subtle. His conversation is légère, that is, he is not
boring in conversation, he knows how to vary it. To work
légèrement means to work with ease, although it should
mean to work feebly, superficially, without getting to the core of things.
These new ways of speaking cause misunderstandings among listeners by making
them think they understand something different from what is being said.
(Reference temporarily gone astray!)
Lent, lentement (slow, slowly)
Lent, lente [adj.: "slow"] Whose action, whose
mouvement is doux and pesant, who advances very slowly, does
little work. — Furetière, 1690
— Tardy, not fast, not moving or acting promptly. — DAF,
1694
— Term related to motion. It is used as the opposite of
vite [fast]. Something that does not move quickly. — Trévoux,
1771
Lentement [adv.: "slowly"] Slowly. — DAF,
1694
— Lent or Lentement: means pesamment. In
a manner that is pesant, slow, lazy, as if asleep. See adagio,
grave, lento, languente, largo, etc. — Brossard, 1703
[Languente, languido, means in a languid manner, and consequently
slowly and dragging the song, the beat, etc. ... Lento means
lentement, pesamment, in a manner that is not vif or
animé. — Brossard]
— This word is the equivalent of the Italian largo and
indicates a slow tempo. Its superlative, très-lentement [very
slowly] indicates the slowest tempo of all. — Rousseau, 1768
[Largo: this word place at the beginning of an air indicates
a tempo slower than adagio and the slowest tempo of all. It shows
that you must spin out [filer] the long sounds, stretch out the beats
and the mesures. — Rousseau]
— In French music is the equivalent of the adagio of the
Italians and designates a mouvement that is lent and
posé. — Trévoux, 1771
Lié (tied, gliding)
Lier [verb: "to tie, to bind"] To engage, attach,
cause some link. Mason's term: to join. — Richelet, 1681
— One says that an orator's speech is nicely lié when
he has organized it in a natural sequence with very subtle transitions and
when the coherence of the speech is very natural. — Furetière,
1690
— To tie something with a rope, a ribbon, a strip of wicker or
any other material. ... It also means to bind together different parts by
something that becomes incorporated with them all. ... One says "tie letters
together" to mean connecting each letter [of a word] by certain lines. It
also means, figuratively, to unite. — DAF, 1694
Lié, liée [adj.: "tied, linked"]
Notes liées are two or several notes that are played with a
single bowstroke on the violin and cello, or with a single tongue stroke
on the flute and oboe. In short, all the notes under a slur. — Rousseau,
1768
Lourd, lourdement (heavy; heavily)
Lourd, lourde [adj.: "heavy, awkward"]
Pesant, uncomfortable to carry, to move: "A burden that is
lourd." ... Is also said of certain animals who move about
pesamment, and even of men. ... Figuratively means difficult,
uncomfortable: "A task that is lourd." ... Figuratively, means gross.
— DAF, 1694
— Is said figuratively about boring men whose esprit is
pesant: "He is a man who is very lourd." ... In painting, is
said of the effect created when a painting has been worked over a great deal:
"His touch is lourd," that is, he paints painstakingly. One also says:
"His composition is lourd," to mean that it is depressing and without
grace. — DAF, 1762
Lourdement [adv.: "heavily"] In a manner that
is pesant, maladroit; grossly, stupidly. — Richelet, 1681
— Pesamment, roughly: "He fell lourdement."
Figuratively means grossly: "He erred lourdement." — DAF,
1694
Lourer (to slur unequally)
Lourer [inf.: "to slur notes unequally"] Sometimes
the first half-beat is made a little longer than the second. This manner
is called lourer; it is used in melodies in which the sounds follow
each other in conjunct motion. [In his manuscript addition to the book: The
first half-beats are a bit longer than the second, that is, one dwells a
bit longer on the first than on the second.] — Loulié,
Eléments, 1698
— Lourer is a way of singing that consists of giving a
bit more time and strength to the first of two notes of like value, for example
two quarter notes, two eighth notes, etc., than to the second, without however
playing the note pointé or piqué. — Brossard,
1703
— The slur mark is also called louré; it serves
to connect eighth notes into pairs in simple duple and triple time, and to
make them couler and roll in a manner that is pathétique
and touching, as in airs for the musette. Instrumentalists who play wind
instruments should give only one tongue stroke, and string players only one
bow stroke to the first eighth note of a pair [or to all the notes under
the slur] — Desmots de la Salle, 1728
— Musical term: said of notes that are connected
[lié] to one another when sung or played. — DAF,
1762
— Means to nourish sounds with douceur and to stress the
first note of each beat more noticeably than the second, although they have
the same value. — Rousseau, 1768
— Musical term: "lourer notes, lourer a tune,"
means to connect [lier] the notes to one another in singing or playing
them, so that the sounds are nourished with douceur and so that one
stresses a bit more noticeably the first note of each beat than the second,
which has the same value. — Trévoux, 1771
— Gracieux, not slow, not fast. — Choquel, 1763
[P.M. Ranum: In sum, lourer functions within a beat
or a pulse, and it links the pair of notes that make up the beat by slurring
them together and at the same time making the first note of the pair longer
than the second. This rhythmic alteration stands in marked contrast to notes
inégales, where there is no slurring and where the notes are grouped
across the beat or pulse, rather than within it.]
Majestueusement (majestically)
Majesté [n.: "majesty"] Character of
grandeur and superiority that makes sovereigns revered. ... Also said about
a grave and serious air with which one does something. ... One also
says that verse is full of majesty when it is grave, full of pomp,
and when it has great meaning. — Furetière, 1690
— August and sovereign grandeur. ... In its strict and chief
sense, is said about God. ... It is also said about kings. ... It is also
said about empires, laws, august organizations and assemblies in which public
authority is vested: "The majesty of the Parlement, of the Roman Empire,"
etc. ... Is also used in oratory about anything that seems august, grand
and noble. — DAF, 1694
— Used figuratively chiefly in oratory when speaking of things
that have an air of grandeur, that are admired, that inspire respect. Is
also said about a grave and serious air with which one does things.
— Trévoux, 1771
Majestueux, majestueuse [adj.: "majestic"] Having
majesty, having a grand, noble air, winning respect and showing something
venerable, grave and charming — Richelet, 1681
— Noble, grand, august; displaying grandeur, which attracts
respect and veneration; and is especially said about the manner, bearing,
height and the entire air of a person. — Furetière, 1690
— Having majesty, glory, grandeur. — DAF, 1694
Majestueusement [adv.: "majestically"] With
majesty, with grandeur. — DAF, 1694
— See grave, maestoso, etc. — Brossard, 1703
[Maestoso means in a manner that is majestueux, full
of pomp, emphatic, etc., and consequently gravement and
lentement, although with expression that is vif and clearly
marquée. — Brossard]
Marqué (marked, distinct)
Marquer [verb: "to mark"] Tailor's term: to
make a line on the fabric with a piece of chalk before cutting the fabric.
— Richelet, 1681
— To express something in particular, to specify something, to
show it in detail. "This painter carefully marked all the features of the
face." — Furetière, 1690
— To put a mark on something to distinguish it from something
else: "To mark sheep." — DAF, 1694
— To mark equally all the beats of the measure. — Brossard,
1703
Mesure, mesuré (measure; measured)
Mesure [n.: "a measure, a division"] Musical
term: a certain regular movement that is made with the hand to guide the
singer's voice according to the slow or fast beats of the music. There are
various mesures [meters] in music, and they are shown by certain numbers
at the beginning of the piece. All the beats of the mesure must be
beaten equally. ... Dance term: a sort of cadence [rhythm] and regular
movement. — Richelet, 1681
— Also said about the cadence [rhythm] and the beats that
must be observed in poetry, dance and music, in order to make them agreeable
and regular. ... In musical terms it is the space of time the conductor takes
to raise and lower his hand to conduct the mouvements [in the sense
of tempo] of the song, sometimes faster and sometimes slower, according to
the type of music or the subject about which one is singing or playing. ...
The mesure usually contains a second of an hour, which is about the
time of a pulse and a heartbeat: so that the systole or contraction of the
heart corresponds to the lifting of the hand, and its diastole, or dilatation,
to its lowering. It lasts as long as a pendulum two and a half feet long
takes to make a swing and then return. The mesure is regulated according
to the different quality or value of the musical notes that serve to show
the time that should be given to each note. For example, a whole note lasts
for an up and down motion and constitutes an entire mesure. The half
note lasts either an upward or a downward motion. And the quarter note lasts
half an upward or half a downward motion, because there are always four of
them in a mesure. The binary or double mesure is one in which
the raising and the lowering of the hand are equal. The ternary or triple
mesure is one in which the downward motion is twice as long as the
upward one, during which one sings two half notes as the hand goes down,
and one as it rises: and this is why the number 3 is placed at the beginning
of the staff when one sings in triple mesure, and a cut-C when it
is duple or equal. This upward and downward motion of the hand is called
arsis and thesis by the Greeks. The "full measure" is one during which one
sings four notes, as in allemandes, gigues, etc.. And one says that a man
"sings in measure" when he carefully heeds these measures and these beats.
— Furetière, 1690
— Serves as a rule to determine the extent of a quantity. ...
Also, in music, means that which serves to show the beats and intervals that
must be kept in music. ... One says "to sing in measure," to mean that the
beats are being carefully followed in a song or while playing an instrument.
— DAF, 1694
— I find that we confuse mesure with what is called
cadence or mouvement. Mesure refers to the length and
equalness of the beats, and cadence is strictly speaking the
esprit [spirit] and the soul that must be added to it. This
cadence scarcely applies to Italian sonatas. But all our airs for
the violin and our pieces for harpsichord, viols, etc., select and seem to
wish to express some feeling. Thus, not having invented signs or symbols
to communicate our individual ideas, we try to remedy this by marking a few
words such as tendrement, vivement, etc., at the beginning
of our pieces, to show approximately what we mean. — Couperin, Art
de toucher, 1716 [See Chapter 9 of P. M. Ranum's Harmonic
Orator for more on the emotions associated with the different
tempi.]
— Division of the duration of the beat into several equal parts,
long enough so that the ear can perceive and subdivide the quantity, and
short enough so that the idea of the first is not erased before the arrival
of the second, and so that equality is felt. Each of these equal parts is
also called the mesure. They are subdivided into other equal parts
called "beats," which are made clear by equal movements of the hand or foot.
The equal duration of each beat or of each measure is made up of several
notes that are "passed through" [passer] more or less rapidly according
to the number in that beat, and to which various shapes are given to indicate
their different lengths. — Rousseau, 1768
[N.B.: Passer is very often used as a synonym for
pointer, that is, to play notes inégales. In short,
in this sentence Rousseau is referring to the notes susceptible to rhythmic
alteration. Ed.]
Mesurer [verb: "to measure"], mesuré
[past participle: "measured"] Something that is well regulated and
proportioned is said to be "well measured." ... Deeds or words are called
mesuré when they are thought out, studied. — Furetière,
1690
— One says of a speech in prose, of an address, that "The periods
[complex sentences] are carefully measured," to mean that the style is harmonious
and cadencé [rhythmic]. — DAF, 1762
Modéré (moderate)
Modéré [adj.: "moderate"] Tempered,
mellowed. Wise, restrained, posé, regular. — Richelet, 1681
— This word indicates a mouvement [tempo] that is midway
between lent and gai. It is comparable to the Italian
andante. — Rousseau, 1768
Mouvement (motion, emotion, tempo)
— Some people confuse mouvement and mesure and
think that (because one usually talks of an air de mouvement to
distinguish it from a slow air), in singing, the entire mouvement
consists of a certain bouncing associated with gigues, menuets and other
such dances. Thus mouvement is completely different from what people
think; and I believe that it is a certain quality that gives soul to a song
and that is caused mouvement because it moves people. I mean that
it attracts the attention of the listeners, even those who are most rebellious
as far as harmony is concerned. [The term] may also mean that this quality
inspires in [listeners'] hearts whatever passion the song wishes to arouse,
principally tendresse. I do not deny that variations in tempo from
fast to slow contribute greatly to the expressiveness of a song, but without
doubt there is another quality that is more pure, more connected to the
esprit, and that makes the listener constantly hold his breath and
that renders the song less boring. — Bacilly, 1668, pp. 199-201
— The position of the body that is moving. ... Wish, liking,
thought, feeling. Everything that touches and moves the heart. — Richelet,
1681
— Is said in music about the manner of beating the mesure
in order to hasten or slow the song or sounds. "The courante and the menuet
are distinguished by the difference in their mouvement." ... An air
de mouvement is a tune in which the mesure is vite and
gai: "menuets and passepieds are airs de mouvement." One says
"sing, play en mouvement" to mean to heed the beat carefully, to make
it very clear when singing or playing some instrument. — DAF, 1694
— Motto: sometimes it means the slowness or speed of the
notes in the musical measure. Thus one says a mouvement gai, a
mouvement lent, a mouvement vif, etc., and in this sense it
also often means an equalness that is regular and clearly marked for all
the beats of the measure. It is in this sense that recitatives are not sung
de mouvement and that the menuet, the gavotte, the sarabande, etc.,
are airs de mouvement, etc. — Brossard, 1703
— The degree of speed or slowness that gives a mesure
the character of the piece being executed. Each sort of mesure has
a mouvement that is most appropriate for it and that in Italian is
called Tempo giusto. But in addition there are five principal degrees
of mouvement [in the sense of "tempo"] that, moving from slow to fast,
are expressed by the words largo, adagio, andante, allegro and
presto, and these words in French are lent, modéré,
gracieux, gai and vite. It is necessary, however, to point out
that since the mouvement is always less precise in French music, the
words that designate it have a much more vague meaning than in Italian music.
... Although generally mouvements lents [slow tempos] are usually
appropriate for sad emotions and mouvements animés [animated
tempos] for gay ones, there are nonetheless often modifications through which
one emotion speaks in the tone of another. Still, it is true that gaiety
is almost never expressed slowly, but the sharpest anguish often is expressed
in the most emotional language. — Rousseau, 1768
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