What does "raga" mean?

Any of various melodic forms used in Indian classical music, or a piece of music composed in such a form.

Raga

Common synonyms include: aeolian mode, authentic mode, dorian mode, greek modes, hindu mode, hypoaeolian mode.

name, noun

name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
Any of various melodic forms used in Indian classical music, or a piece of music composed in such a form. countable
"‘The song is composed in a raga appropriate to the present hour, which is the evening.’"
2
Passion, love, lust. uncountable
"The conditions of asmita, raga, dvesha, and abhinivesha have a physical basis: they function to inhibit the normal pulsatory rhythms of the physical body."

Proper Noun

1
A language spoken in Vanuatu.
2
A town in Paro district, Bhutan.
3
A town in South Sudan.
4
Alternative form of Ray (“a region and satrapy in ancient Iran located between the Alborz and Zagros mountain ranges and the Dasht-e Kavir desert”) alt-of, alternative

"‘The song is composed in a raga appropriate to the present hour, which is the evening.’"

Borrowed from Sanskrit राग (rāga, “dye, colour”).