Roulade
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An elaborate embellishment of several notes sung to one syllable.
"He leaned back in his chair, and little more than the whites of his upturned eyes were visible; and beating time upon the table with one hand, claw-wise, and with two or three queer, little thrills and roulades, which re-appeared with great precision in each verse, he delivered himself thus, in what I suspect was an old psalm tune: […]"
- 2 (music) an elaborate run of several notes sung to one syllable wordnet
- 3 A slice of meat that is rolled up, stuffed, and cooked.
- 4 a dish consisting of a slice of meat that is rolled around a filling and cooked wordnet
- 1 To sing an elaborate embellishment of several notes to one syllable.
Example
More examples"He leaned back in his chair, and little more than the whites of his upturned eyes were visible; and beating time upon the table with one hand, claw-wise, and with two or three queer, little thrills and roulades, which re-appeared with great precision in each verse, he delivered himself thus, in what I suspect was an old psalm tune: […]"
Etymology
From French roulade, from rouler (“to roll”), from Old French roler.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.