postlude means the final part of a piece; especially music played (normally on the organ) at the end of a church service.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, postlude ranks #2,374 of 14,451 for Most Whimsical Words, #2,574 of 14,448 for Funniest Words, #3,867 of 14,297 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #7,152 of 14,445 for Most Beautiful Words.
postlude is pronounced /ˈpəʊstluːd/.
Why “postlude” is a great word
A concluding piece of music, especially an organ piece at the end of a church service, or a final passage of text or speech. Modeled on 'prelude', from the English prefix post- (meaning "after") and the Latin lūdus ("play, game"), first attested in the early 19th century (c. 1821). Unlike a "prelude," which opens an act, or a "coda," which is a composed musical finale, a postlude is the deliberate, formal play that comes after the main event has concluded. It is the resonant chord that hangs in the air after the last hymn, the hush of a congregation rising in unison, or the quiet benediction spoken as a congregation disperses into the twilight—the structured grace note for the inevitable act of leaving, the quiet music of aftermath.
Etymology
From post- + Latin lūdus (“play”) (modelled on prelude).
noun
- The final part of a piece; especially music played (normally on the organ) at the end of a church service.“In the Sibelian world of song, then, postludes would inevitably sound redundant or extraneous.”
- A concluding passage of text or speech; an epilogue or afterword.“This was Nabokov’s postlude to Lolita, where he relates the book’s genesis.”
verb
- To form a postlude (to); to end with a postlude.“Mercifully never preceded by a drum-roll or postluded by a curtsey for applause, each poem seemed to arise from the surrounding prose, which Courtenay was successfully endeavouring to make sound as if it was being thought up on the spot.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.