" a cantus firmus a short melisma of a chant."
melisma
n.,
pl. 3ma[ta 73m! t!8 or 3mas 5Gr, song < melizein, to sing, modulate < melos, song: see MELIC6 a succession of different notes sung upon a single syllable, as orig. in plainsong or, now especially, in the ornamental phrases of Near Eastern and Asian music
mel[is[mat[ic 7mel#iz mat4ik8
adj.