Link Centre Dictionary

leitmotif

leit·mo·tif

UK/ˈlaɪt.məʊˌtiːf/ US/ˈlaɪt.moʊˌtif/ uncommon

noun

1.

a melodic phrase that accompanies the reappearance of a person or situation (as in Wagner''s operas)

Synonyms

Origin

From German Leitmotiv (“leading motif”), from leiten (“to lead”) + Motiv (“motif”), originally used to describe Wagnerian opera. The spelling was influenced by motif.

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.