What does cantate mean?
Cantate occupies a curious position on the edge of the English vocabulary: it is not an everyday word but a borrowed Latin form that surfaces chiefly in two settings. First, it appears verbatim in liturgical Latin, most famously in the Introit text 'Cantate Domino' ('Sing unto the Lord'), where it functions as a plural command — literally 'sing ye'. Second, through its French and German counterparts, it serves as a name for the musical genre English speakers usually call a cantata: a substantial vocal composition for soloists, choir, and instruments. Because English has thoroughly adopted 'cantata', the shorter 'cantate' reads as deliberately classical or ecclesiastical, lending it a formal, reverent flavour. Readers encounter it mainly in church services, concert programmes, and choral scholarship, where recognising it unlocks both a piece of sacred language and a window into how Latin singing terminology spread across Europe.
nounA vocal composition for one or more voices with instrumental accompaniment, especially a secular one; the term is also encountered in its Latin form as a liturgical instruction meaning 'sing ye' (as in 'Cantate Domino').
- As the Latin second-person plural imperative of cantare ('sing ye'), used in liturgical texts such as the Introit 'Cantate Domino'.
- In continental European usage (French cantate, German Kantate), a designation for a cantata — a vocal work with instrumental accompaniment.
"The programme closed with a graceful cantate by Telemann, scored for solo voice and continuo."
"The Introit for this Sunday begins 'Cantate Domino canticum novum' — sing unto the Lord a new song."
"Her recital featured a little-known cantate by Handel alongside more familiar arias."
Every time a choir sings 'Cantate Domino', it's obeying a command issued two thousand years ago in Latin: 'Sing, ye!'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cantate
Cantate descends directly from Latin cantare, the frequentative of canere, meaning 'to sing' — the same root that gives English cantata, chant, canticle, cantor, and incantation. The specific form 'cantate' is the second-person plural imperative, the command addressed to a congregation or choir. It entered Western liturgical use through the Latin Vulgate Psalms and remained fixed in Catholic and Anglican worship, while the related noun passed into Italian as 'cantata' and thence into French and German, where the unadapted form 'cantate' survives as the name of the genre.
How cantate is actually used
In modern English, 'cantate' is rare outside liturgical Latin and references to continental repertoire; English writers normally use the fully absorbed form 'cantata' for the musical genre. The word carries a formal, ecclesiastical or classical register.
Easily confused with cantate
'Cantata' is the established Italian-derived English word for a choral work, while 'cantate' is the Latin verb form ('sing!') used liturgically, or a French/German variant spelling of the same musical genre.