codas
|co-da|
🇺🇸
/ˈkoʊdə/
🇬🇧
/ˈkəʊdə/
(coda)
concluding section
Etymology
'coda' originates from Italian, specifically the word 'coda', where it meant 'tail' (from Latin 'cauda').
'coda' came into English from Italian (where 'coda' derived from Latin 'cauda' meaning 'tail'); the musical sense was adopted into English usage from Italian musical terminology in the 18th–19th centuries.
Initially, it meant 'tail' (a literal tail or rear part), but over time it developed the figurative sense of a 'concluding part' (in music, speech, or narrative) used in modern English.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
plural form of 'coda'.
The program featured several short codas after the main movements.
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Noun 2
in music, concluding passages or sections that close a movement or piece, often extending or rounding off the composition.
Many classical symphonies include dramatic codas that resolve the themes.
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Noun 3
in linguistics, the consonant sound or sounds that come after the nucleus of a syllable (i.e., the syllable's coda).
In English phonology, codas can be single consonants or consonant clusters such as 'sts' in 'lists', so some words have complex codas.
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Noun 4
a concluding event, remark, or scene in a literary or dramatic work; an epilogue-like finish.
The novel's multiple codas gave each character a short, reflective final scene.
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Last updated: 2025/09/20 11:55