barcarole means A Venetian folk song traditionally sung by gondoliers, often in ⁶⁄₈ or ¹²⁄₈ time with alternating strong and weak beats imitating a rowing motion.
barcarole is pronounced /ˈbɑːkəɹəʊl/.
Why “barcarole” is a great word
A Venetian boatman's song, or a musical composition imitating its gentle, lilting rhythm, traditionally in compound meter. From French barcarolle, from Venetian barcarola ('song of a boatman'), from barca ('boat'), from Late Latin barcārius ('boatman'), from barca ('small boat'), ultimately from Egyptian bꜣjr ('transport ship'). Unlike the intricate, polyphonic 'madrigal' or the robust, labor-coordinating 'chantey,' the barcarole is a lyrical evocation of leisure and liquid motion. It is the measured dip of an oar at twilight, the soft slap of canal against stone, a voice carrying across dark water with the melancholy of departure—a crafted nostalgia for a rhythm that was, in its origin, simply the sound of work.
Etymology
Borrowed from French barcarolle, from Venetan barcaroƚa (“song sung by a boatman”), from barca (“bark, barge, boat”), ultimately from Egyptian bꜣjr (“transport ship; type of fish”).
noun
- A Venetian folk song traditionally sung by gondoliers, often in ⁶⁄₈ or ¹²⁄₈ time with alternating strong and weak beats imitating a rowing motion.“Venice! dear beautiful Venice! scene of harmony and love! where all was gayety and mirth, revelry and pleasure, with what warm feelings do I recall thee to my memory; day and night were the gondoliers singing barcarolles, or the verses of [Torquato] Tasso and [Ludovico] Ariosto to Venetian airs; […]”
- A piece of music composed in imitation of such a song.“A Barcarolle, with variations for the Pianoforte and flute, ad lib. by [Jean Théodore] Latour, opens with an introduction of great feeling and elegance. The Barcarolle is composed by [Jacques Féréol] Mazas, the great violinist, and has been played by him at the Philharmonic Concerts, and is original and graceful.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- berceuse 83% match — A composition that resembles a lullaby, often in 6/8 time. vs barcarole →
- madrigal 80% match — A song for a small number of unaccompanied voices; from 13th century Italy. vs barcarole →
- canzonet 80% match — A short song, now especially one which is light and breezy. vs barcarole →
- serenata 80% match — A type of baroque cantata performed outdoors, in the evening, with mixed vocal and instrumental forces vs barcarole →
- pavane 79% match — A musical style characteristic of the 16th and 17th centuries. vs barcarole →
- ballade 79% match — Any of various genres of single-movement musical pieces having lyrical and narrative elements. vs barcarole →
- mazurka 79% match — A traditional Polish folk dance in triple time, usually moderately fast, containing a heavy accent on the third beat and occasionally the second beat. vs barcarole →
- rubato 79% match — A tempo in which strict timing is relaxed, the music being played near, but not on, the beat. vs barcarole →