Re: is there a word for this?

On 3/22/2000, Howard Lurie <lurie[_at_]law.villanova.edu> wrote:
>
> I was not looking for a word that would describe a legal wrong, but
> a word (if one exists) to describe the conduct and that would be
> understood by readers or listeners merely upon hearing the word.
>
> A colleague has suggested the word "setting", i.e., the words are
> "set" to the music of xxxxx. The only problem I have with that is
> that the word alone won't convey what I want to convey. If I say
> that x is a parody of y, people know what I am saying. If I say
> that x is a setting of y, I don't think they will have a clue.
>
> So I am back to square one. Maybe we have no word in English. I
> wonder if another major language has a word for it.

You might want to check the Oxford Dictionary of Music. If a word exists (in English), it'll certainly be in there.

"Resetting," I believe, refers to the practice of taking an existing text and setting it to an existing melody (for example, setting the first five verses of Genesis to the tune of "Maria" or something.) It would not, in my experience, refer to writing new lyrics to go with an existing melody.

If you can't find anything, I'd suggest that coining a word like "relyricize" would accomplish your goal: describing the conduct in a manner that will be instantly understood.

-Ari

Ari Kahan
<akahan[_at_]netcom.com>