Word of the Day: April 8, 2009 ~ ode

ode (ohd) - noun

An ode is "a lyric poem typically of elaborate or irregular metrical form and expressive of enthusiastic emotion."

First used in written form around 1580–90; from the Middle French word ode. In Latin, ode means "lyric song." The Greek word oide, means aoide or oides ("song"). This is significant as many Greek words have to do with singing, such as:

• The word melody breaks up into melos, meaning "tune" and aoidos, meaning "singer."

• The word parody is derived from para, meaning "along side of," and oide, meaning "song"; so it was a "song" written "along side of" the song of another author for the purpose of ridicule.

• The word rhapsody also traces to the Greek rhapsoidos, from rhapto, meaning "to stitch together" and oide, meaning "song."  A rhapsody during that time was a lengthy recitation that seemed like many songs all "stitched" together.