Why this word is great
PROLATION — [Noun] The act of speaking or producing words; in medieval music, the relative time value of a minim to a semibreve. From Latin prolationem, from proferre ("to bring forward, produce"). Unlike "utterance" (which captures the spoken result) or "measure" (which segments musical time), prolation is the act of drawing forth—whether breath into speech or rhythm into song. It is the moment before the word leaves the tongue, the precise calibration of a minim’s weight against a semibreve’s span, or the quiet tension of a composer’s quill hovering over parchment—the silent arithmetic of creation made audible.