ossia means in a musical score, an alternative version of a passage, usually just a few measures long. The alternative may be an easier version of a particularly difficult passage, or a more difficult version of a passage. It carries an Arena rating of 1617, earned across 11 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, ossia ranks #254 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #517 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #1,051 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #1,644 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words.
ossia is pronounced /ˈɑsiə/.
Why “ossia” is a great word
A sanctioned alternative passage in a musical score, typically offering a simpler or more difficult rendition. From the Italian *ossia*, a contraction of *o sia* ("or let it be"). Unlike a *coda*, which is a concluding section, or a general *variant*, which denotes any textual difference, an *ossia* is a specific, composer-approved detour written directly into the fabric of the work. It is the graceful arpeggio hovering above a thorny cadenza, the optional trill notated in smaller print, or the editorial path circumventing a cliff-face of notes—a quiet admission that the ideal and the performable are often different countries.
Etymology
From Italian ossia (“or rather”).
noun
- In a musical score, an alternative version of a passage, usually just a few measures long. The alternative may be an easier version of a particularly difficult passage, or a more difficult version of a passage.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- ottava 54% match — One octave higher; as a marking, typically abbreviated 8va. vs ossia →
- cambiata 53% match — A pattern in a homophonic or polyphonic (and usually contrapuntal) setting of a melody where a note is skipped from (typically by an interval of a third) in one direction (either going up or down in pitch) followed by the note skipped to, and then by motion in the opposite direction, and where either the note skipped from is distinguished as a dissonance or the note skipped to is distinguished as a non-harmonic or non-chordal tone. vs ossia →
- passagework 53% match — An ornamental passage in a musical work, often resembling a scale; or the performance of such a passage vs ossia →
- ordo 52% match — A musical phrase constructed from one or more statements of one modal pattern and ending in a rest. vs ossia →
- tutti 51% match — All together. Indicates that the remainder of a group should join in playing after a solo or other passage with a reduced number of voices. vs ossia →
- arioso 51% match — A musical style, in opera and oratorio, that is more melodic than recitative, but less so than aria. vs ossia →
- obbligato 51% match — An obbligato section; a prominent countermelody, often written to be played or sung above the principal theme (in a higher pitch range). vs ossia →
- aria 51% match — A musical piece written typically for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment in an opera or cantata. vs ossia →