to syncopate
1
8.9
- verb
- /ˈsɪŋkəˌpeɪt/
- Specialized
:
sincopar
- In jazz music, musicians often syncopate their melodies to add unexpected accents.
Examples
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Now they have one rhythm, the drums, and Jeff's breath, syncopated, is a maraca shaking.
Fiction book (1997) -
The rhythms are syncopated.
-
The accompaniment pattern is syncopated.
Academic text (2003) -
And what jazz is, is it took this African predisposition to syncopate, if you will, to overlay a rhythm different from this ground rhythm.
-
One sentence appears and is followed by another; everything is syncopated, punctuated high fidelity, and I'm singing "bird" with my whole body, bird bird bird.
Fiction book (1997) -
The music is often syncopated and contains erratic rhythms, such as in the changing rhythm of the hook "fleet-street" in various parts of the show.
Blog text (19) -
The irresistible refrain of Sarah-Bell's song syncopated their gait.
Fiction book (1999) -
The onboard speakers are a nice touch in games that use the gamepad as a true second display, or when the music syncopates itself so it's augmented by the gamepad's speakers.
Blog text (11) -
The drummer decided to syncopate the beat to give the song a unique rhythm.
-
To create a lively feel, they syncopate the rhythm during the chorus.
Surface Forms
Morphology
syncopate = syncopation (semi-transparent) = syncop + ate
The meaning of 'syncopate' is derived from 'syncopation', but the root 'syncop' is not a standalone English word.
Etymology
Syncopate comes from Greek parts syn- ('together') and koptein ('to cut'), so it meant 'cutting short'. That's why to syncopate in music is to 'cut' the normal beats and put stress on weak beats, making the rhythm feel surprising and lively.