noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An operatic song in slow tempo, either complete in itself or (e.g., in Bellini and Verdi) followed by a faster, more resolute section: hence
2. 2
   A rather slow, song-like instrumental movement; the title, for example, of a movement in Beethoven's string quartet in B flat, op. 130 (1826) and of a once-famous piece (originally for violin and piano) by Raff, and of the slow movement of Rubra's string quartet No. 2.

Synonyms

All synonyms

anthemart songballadbluescalypsocanticle

Etymology

From Italian cavatina, diminutive of cavata.

Related phrases

string quartet

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.