Plagal
/ˈpleɪɡəl/ adj
adj ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Designating a mode lying a perfect fourth below the authentic form.
"[…] [Carol] King uses the plagal coda as affirmation in “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”, the 1967 anthem to liberated female sexuality that King co-wrote with [Gerry] Goffin for Aretha Franklin."
- 2 Designating a cadence in which the subdominant chord precedes the tonic.
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"[…] [Carol] King uses the plagal coda as affirmation in “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”, the 1967 anthem to liberated female sexuality that King co-wrote with [Gerry] Goffin for Aretha Franklin."
Etymology
From Late Latin plagalis, from plaga, from plagius, from Byzantine Ancient Greek πλάγιος (plágios, “plagal”), πλάγιος (plágios, “oblique”).