Added 9 October 2026
fugue
/ˈfyɡ/ noun
In Latin: contrāpunctus Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about fugue at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- A contrapuntal piece of music wherein a particular melody is played in a number of voices, each voice introduced in turn by playing the melody.
- Anything in literature, poetry, film, painting, etc., that resembles a fugue in structure or in its elaborate complexity and formality.
- A fugue state.
verb
- To improvise, in singing, by introducing vocal ornamentation to fill gaps etc.
- To spend time in a dissociative fugue state.
Origin
Borrowed from French fugue, from Italian fuga (“flight, ardor”), from Latin fuga (“act of fleeing”), from fugiō (“to flee”); compare Ancient Greek φυγή (phugḗ). Apparently from the metaphor that the first part starts alone on its course, and is pursued by later parts. Doublet of fuga.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)