undersong
Etymology
From under- + song.
undersong means an accompanying sound or strain; an accompaniment. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.
Why “undersong” is a great word
UNDERSONG — [Noun] A subordinate or underlying melody, meaning, or refrain that accompanies a primary song or text. From the English prefix under- (meaning "beneath" or "subordinate") + song. Unlike "overtone," a subtle harmonic implication of the primary sound, or "refrain," a specific, repeated phrase, an undersong is a distinct, parallel current running beneath the surface. It is the cello’s steady hum beneath the violin’s flight, the scent of damp earth persisting through a bouquet of roses, the quiet grief moving beneath a celebratory toast—the foundational truth the main melody is built upon, but dares not sing aloud.
noun
- An accompanying sound or strain; an accompaniment.“Accept the Off'ring I at diſtance bring, / With Harp ill-tun'd, and long thro' Age unſtrung, / Fit only to fill up ſome Under-ſong!”
- Subordinate and underlying idea, meaning or atmosphere; undertone.“Defective however and faulty must be the composition in prose, which you and I with all our study and attention cannot understand. In poetry it is not exactly so: the greater part of it must be intelligible to all: but in the very best there is often an undersong of sense, which none beside the poetical mind, or one deeply versed in its mysteries, can comprehend.”
- The burden of a song; the chorus; the refrain.“It is not hard to observe that David’s Allelujahs are more then his Hosannas; his thanks more then his suits. Oft-times doth he praise God when be begs nothing: seldome ever doth he beg that favour for which he doth not raise up his Soul to an anticipation of Thanks: neither is this any other then the universal under-song of all his Heavenly Ditties [...]”