rhap·so·dy / ˈrapsədē/ • n. (pl. -dies) 1. an effusively enthusiastic or ecstatic expression of feeling: rhapsodies of praise. ∎  Mus. a free instrumental composition in one extended movement, typically one that is emotional or exuberant in character.2. (in ancient Greece) an epic poem, or part of it, of a suitable length for recitation at one time.DERIVATIVES: rhap·sod·ic / rapˈsädik/ adj.

rhapsody. Strictly, from the ancient Gr. usage, the recitation of parts of an epic poem. In mus. the term has come to mean a comp. in one continuous movt., often based on popular, nat., or folk melodies. Thus Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies, Stanford's Irish Rhapsodies, Vaughan Williams's Norfolk Rhapsody. Delius's Brigg Fair, variations on an Eng. folk-song, is subtitled An English Rhapsody, and Rachmaninov's variations on a caprice by Paganini are called Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Brahms used the term for works for solo pf. and for his Alto Rhapsody, a setting for v., male ch., and orch. of verses by Goethe. Gershwin used the term for his Rhapsody in Blue and Chabrier's España is a Sp. rhapsody.

rhapsody epic poem or part of one suitable for recitation at one time; †miscellany, medley XVI; extravagant effusion XVII. — L. rhapsōdia — Gr. rhapsōidíā, f. rhapsōidós rhapsodist, f. rháptein stitch + ōidē song, ODE; see -Y3.
Hence rhapsodic XVIII, -ical, -ist, -ize XVII.

Rhapsody

a collection of persons; notes; miscellaneous collections; any number of parts joined together—Johnson, 1755.

Examples : rhapsody of errors and calumnies, 1639; of freebooters, 1689; of condemned heresies, 1580; of impertinence, 1765; of nonsense, 1711; of evening tales, 1755; of wild theory, 1837; of words, 1602.

rhapsody Musical term applied in the 19th and 20th centuries to orchestral works, usually performed in one continuous movement and most often inspired by a nationalist or romantic theme.