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countertenor

coun·ter·ten·or
C c

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [koun-ter-ten-er]
    • /ˈkaʊn tərˌtɛn ər/
    • /ˈkaʊn.təˌten.ər/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [koun-ter-ten-er]
    • /ˈkaʊn tərˌtɛn ər/

Definitions of countertenor word

  • countable noun countertenor A countertenor is a man who sings with a high voice that is similar to a low female singing voice. 3
  • noun countertenor an adult male voice with an alto range 3
  • noun countertenor a singer with such a voice 3
  • noun countertenor an adult male voice, usually in falsetto, with a range similar to the contralto and sometimes reaching the soprano 3
  • noun countertenor a singer with such a voice; a male alto 3
  • noun countertenor a part for such a voice 3

Information block about the term

Origin of countertenor

First appearance:

before 1350
One of the 20% oldest English words
1350-1400; Middle English cownturenur, apparently < Anglo-French; compare Middle French contreteneur, Old Italian contratenore, equivalent to contra- contra-2 + tenore tenor

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Countertenor

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

countertenor popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 44% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

countertenor usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for countertenor

noun countertenor

  • alto — An alto is a woman who has a low singing voice.
  • falsetto — an unnaturally or artificially high-pitched voice or register, especially in a man.

Antonyms for countertenor

noun countertenor

  • bass — A bass is a man with a very deep singing voice.

Top questions with countertenor

  • what is a countertenor?
  • how to be a countertenor?
  • what is countertenor?
  • what is a countertenor voice?
  • how to sing countertenor?

See also

Matching words

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