melodiousness

[Eng. melodious; -ne .] The quality or state of being melodious; melody, musicalne , harmoniousne . měl-o-dist, s. [Eng. melod(y); -ist; Fr. mélo diste; Ital. & Sp. melodist a.] 1. A writer or composer of melodies. 2. A collection of melodies, tunes, or songs. měl'-d-dīze, v. t. & i. [Eng. melod(y); -ize.] A. Trans . To make melodious. "Whose murmurs melodize my song." Langhorn: Ode to the kiver Eden. B. In trans.: To compose or sing melodies. měl-o-dra-ma, *měl-o-drame, s. [Fr. mélodrame=acting with songs; Gr. melos =a song, and drama an action, a drama (q.v.).) 1. Orig .: A dramatic piece in which the interest is heightened by the character of the vocal or instrumental music accompanying certain situations. The melodrama is of French invention; the subjects are generally of a romantic character, illustrated with picturesque costumes and scenery, and having serious and sensational incidents. Although sometimes confounded with the opera, it differs from that higher cla of work insomuch that the action is carried on in speaking and not in recitative and aria. [OPERA.] 2. Now : A play of strong situations, resembling both the domestic and the sensational drama, and characterized more by bold coloring than artistic finish. The more thrilling pa ages are accentuated by musical accompaniments known as the "hurries," the only relic of the original musical character of the melodrama. This form of drama is abandoned to second-rate theaters, and the word is often used to signify a strained and unnatural play.