euouae means in medieval music, a mnemonic for the Latin words saeculōrum and āmēn (from “ […] in saecula saeculōrum. Āmēn.” from the Gloria Patri doxology), used in liturgical works to indicate how the words should be sung with various cadences. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.
euouae is pronounced /juːˈuː.iː/.
Why “euouae” is a great word
EUOUAE — [Noun] A mnemonic abbreviation formed from the vowels of the Latin words 'saeculōrum' and 'āmēn', used in medieval liturgical manuscripts to indicate the melodic cadence for the concluding phrase of the Gloria Patri doxology. From the vowels in the last two words of the final phrase of the Gloria Patri doxology in Latin: 'saeculōrum' and 'āmēn'. Unlike an 'acronym' (a pronounceable word from initial letters) or a 'neume' (a notational sign for pitch), euouae is a skeletal guide, a whispered vowel-ghost of a sacred text pressed into service as a musical shorthand. It is the scribe’s swift pen reducing 'saeculorum amen' to a river of pure vowels, the choirmaster’s silent cue hovering at the margin of a vellum page, the melodic shape of eternity condensed into six breathy sounds—a profound mystery encoded in mere utterance.
noun
- In medieval music, a mnemonic for the Latin words saeculōrum and āmēn (from “ […] in saecula saeculōrum. Āmēn.” from the Gloria Patri doxology), used in liturgical works to indicate how the words should be sung with various cadences.“In the publicke ſervice of the Romiſh Maſſe there are words truly ridiculous, and which never were other then worthleſſe, as Evovae, Miſerere nobis, & Stabat mater doloroſa, and many the like, which nevertheleſſe in the Church of Rome are not ridiculous, becauſe they are authoriſed by the divine ſervice.”
- A cadence used to sing those words of the Gloria Patri.“The euouae, initials, and finials of all the modes, are given in this kind of notation very amply, and always on five lines, and ſpaces.”