solmizate

verb, transitive + intransitive

sol·​mi·​zate

ˈsäl-mə-ˌzāt

variants or less commonly solmize

ˈsäl-ˌmīz

solmizated also solmized; solmizating also solmizing; solmizates also solmizes

1

transitive : to sing or represent (music) using the sol-fa syllables

If the tenor has an E-flat, that note is solmizated as fa, and the following D must be mi …

—Jan Herlinger, in Explorations in Music, the Arts, and Ideas, 1988

… there may be more than one correct way of solmizing a given passage.

—Geoffrey Newton Sharp, The Music Review, 1969

2

intransitive : to sing using the sol-fa syllables

Whether Guido himself used the syllables to name the steps, let alone to solmizate, must remain a matter of conjecture …

—Karol Berger, Musica Ficta, (1987) 2004

… the perversion of incorrect solmizing …

—Margaret Bent, Counterpoint, Composition, and Musica Ficta, 2002

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from solmization

First Known Use

1891, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

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