A rhythmic or melodic style of reciting, chanting, or singing, especially used in religious contexts like Torah or liturgical readings.
From Latin 'cantillare' (to sing quietly) plus '-tion' (noun suffix). Developed as a term to describe the formalized singing practices in Hebrew and Christian traditions.
Torah cantillation uses 29 different musical marks (called trope marks) to guide readers—it's basically ancient sheet music that's so old we forgot it was ever just music!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.