A song, chant, or canticle, especially in Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese contexts; a musical composition for singing.
From Latin 'canticum' (song) through Romance language evolution. In Spanish and Italian especially, 'cantico' is the direct descendant of the Latin term, used for both secular and sacred songs.
While English speakers use 'canticle' for religious songs, Spanish and Italian speakers say 'cantico'—but they're literally the same word that split into different languages over 1,000 years ago! Dante uses 'cantico' in the Divine Comedy, showing how deeply embedded this word is in European literature.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.