n. [ OE. cadence, cadens, LL. cadentia a falling, fr. L. cadere to fall; cf. F. cadence, It. cadenza. See Chance. ] [ 1913 Webster ] 1. The act or state of declining or sinking. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ] Now was the sun in western cadence low. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. A fall of the voice in reading or speaking, especially at the end of a sentence. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. A rhythmical modulation of the voice or of any sound; as, music of bells in cadence sweet. [ 1913 Webster ] Blustering winds, which all night long
Had roused the sea, now with hoarse cadence lull
Seafaring men o'erwatched. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ] The accents . . . were in passion's tenderest cadence. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ] 4. Rhythmical flow of language, in prose or verse. [ 1913 Webster ] Golden cadence of poesy. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] If in any composition much attention was paid to the flow of the rhythm, it was said (at least in the 14th and 15th centuries) to be “prosed in faire cadence.” Dr. Guest. [ 1913 Webster ] 5. (Her.) See Cadency. [ 1913 Webster ] 6. (Man.) Harmony and proportion in motions, as of a well-managed horse. [ 1913 Webster ] 7. (Mil.) A uniform time and place in marching. [ 1913 Webster ] 8. (Mus.) (a) The close or fall of a strain; the point of rest, commonly reached by the immediate succession of the tonic to the dominant chord. (b) A cadenza, or closing embellishment; a pause before the end of a strain, which the performer may fill with a flight of fancy. [ 1913 Webster ]
Imperfect cadence. (Mus.) See under Imperfect. [ 1913 Webster ]
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