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Glite Dictionary
🔄 A way 🧠 Reasoning method 🎵 A musical pattern
modus

modus

9.9
A system of melodies and rhythms in church or folk music
  • noun
  • /ˈmoʊdəs/
  • Archaic
translation icon : modo
  • In medieval music, the modus defined the scale and rhythmic patterns used in compositions.

Examples

  • Different musical traditions employ various modi to create distinct sounds and atmospheres.

  • The poet's choice of modus added a unique rhythmic quality to her verses.

  • So similarly the higher modes are all massive.

  • "Mode" is derived from Latin "modus", meaning "due or proper measure".

    Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

  • You see one of the higher transverse modes as the cavity is, is being tuned.

  • Thomistic tactic of packaging everything one wants to deny about our thoughts about God into the modus significandi.

    Blog text (24)

Synonyms

meter
vsmodus
  • Literature
29 6.0

A regular pattern of strong and weak beats in a poem or song

also covers pitch systems in traditional music and not only rhythm
medieval mode
vsmodus
  • Specialized
9.9

A pattern of notes used in old Western music like Gregorian chant

is broader, covering pitch systems and rhythmic patterns in traditional music

Compounds

modus operandi
  • Literature
14 7.5

A usual way a person or group does something

modus vivendi
  • Formal
1 9.6

A way of living that lets different groups live together peacefully

Surface Forms

modus singular
modi plural

Etymology

Modus comes from the Latin modus, which means 'measure' or 'rhythm' and is the origin of English mode. In music a modus is a pattern or system of melody or rhythm, which is why it names a musical mode or rhythmic pattern.