Plagal Definition
plāgəl
adjective
Designating a mode having a range about a fifth above and a fifth below a control note.
Webster's New World
Designating a cadence with the subdominant chord immediately preceding the tonic chord, as in the amen of a religious hymn.
Webster's New World
Origin of Plagal
-
Medieval Latin plagālis from plaga plagal mode from plagius plagal from Medieval Greek plagios (ēkhos) plagal (mode) from Greek oblique from plagos side plāk-1 in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
-
From Late Latin plagalis, from Latin plaga, from plagius, from Byzantine Greek πλάγιος (plagios) "˜plagal', Ancient Greek πλάγιος (plagios, “oblique").
From Wiktionary
Find Similar Words
Find similar words to plagal using the buttons below.