Hypertext Webster Gateway: "madrigal"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Madrigal \Mad"ri*gal\, n. [It. madrigale, OIt. madriale,
mandriale (cf. LL. matriale); of uncertain origin, possibly
fr. It mandra flock, L. mandra stall, herd of cattle, Gr. ?
fold, stable; hence, madrigal, originally, a pastoral song.]
1. A little amorous poem, sometimes called a {pastoral poem},
containing some tender and delicate, though simple,
thought.
Whose artful strains have oft delayed The huddling
brook to hear his madrigal. --Milton.
2. (Mus.) An unaccompanied polyphonic song, in four, five, or
more parts, set to secular words, but full of counterpoint
and imitation, and adhering to the old church modes.
Unlike the freer glee, it is best sung with several voices
on a part. See {Glee}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
madrigal
n : an unaccompanied partsong for 2 or 3 voices; follows a
strict poetic form
v : sing madrigals; "The group was madrigaling beautifully"
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.