accordion, concertina – Accordion derives from Italian accordare, “to tune,” and both it and the concertina operate on the same basic principle; however, the accordion has a pianolike keyboard and is rectangular and bulky, while the concertina has buttons in headboards and is hexagonal and more portable. More…
carol – A term which originally referred to a non-religious ring dance accompanied by singing. Eventually it came to mean a merry song with a tune that could be danced to. The Italian friars who lived with St. Francis of Assisi were the first to compose Christmas carols, c. 1410. More…
lilt – Comes from a word meaning “pipe,” and the noun originally meant “song, tune.” More…
perseveration – The recurrence of a tune or thought in the mind. More…