Motet

//moʊˈtɛt// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A composition adapted to sacred words in the elaborate polyphonic church style; an anthem.

    "Singing their holiday concert from memory, the group sounded confident and expressive in pieces ranging from a medley of Barry Manilow songs to renaissance motets."

  2. 2
    an unaccompanied choral composition with sacred lyrics; intended to be sung as part of a church service; originated in the 13th century wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
agnus deialleluiaansweranthemantiphoncantata

Example

More examples

"Singing their holiday concert from memory, the group sounded confident and expressive in pieces ranging from a medley of Barry Manilow songs to renaissance motets."

Etymology

From French motet.

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