What does fermate mean?
Fermate is the plural of fermata, a term from musical notation indicating that a note, chord, or rest should be sustained longer than its written value. Marked by an arc with a dot beneath or above it, a fermata hands interpretive power to the performer or conductor, who decides just how long the sound lingers. Fermate most often appear at the ends of phrases, at cadences, or at moments of dramatic emphasis, and they are especially characteristic of the works of Bach, where they signal the close of each chorale line. The word comes from Italian, meaning literally 'stops' or 'halts', and entered English musical vocabulary as composers and performers adopted Italian terminology wholesale. While the anglicized plural 'fermatas' is common in casual use, 'fermate' preserves the original Italian inflection and appears frequently in scholarly and program-note contexts.
nounFermate is the plural of fermata, a musical direction indicating that a note, chord, or rest should be prolonged beyond its written duration, typically marked by an arc with a dot above it.
- Plural of fermata: musical hold marks directing a performer to prolong a note, chord, or rest beyond its notated value.
"The conductor lingered over the fermate at the ends of each phrase, drawing out the tension before resolving each cadence."
"The score's final movement contains several fermate that allow the soloist room for expressive freedom."
"Students often overlook the fermate in Bach's chorales, where each one signals a phrase ending."
As the headword itself is already a plural form, the singular is fermata; the anglicized plural 'fermatas' is also widely used.
"Two prominent fermate near the end of the symphony gave the brass section a moment of radiant stillness."
When a composer wants a note to hang in the air indefinitely, they mark it with a little eye-like symbol called a fermata — and musicians say the plural in Italian: fermate.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fermate
Fermate derives from the Italian feminine noun fermata, meaning 'a stop' or 'halt', itself from the verb fermare ('to fix, to stop'), which descends from Latin firmare, 'to make firm or establish', from firmus ('firm, strong'). English borrowed the singular fermata in the eighteenth or nineteenth century as part of the broad adoption of Italian musical terminology, and fermate serves as its Italian-style plural. Cognates from the same Latin root include firm, affirm, confirm, and affirmation.
How fermate is actually used
Fermate is primarily used in classical and choral music contexts and retains its Italian plural form alongside the anglicized 'fermatas'. Both plurals are accepted; 'fermate' tends to appear in more formal or scholarly writing about music.
Easily confused with fermate
Formate is a chemical salt or ester of formic acid (or a data format), whereas fermate is a musical plural for held notes.
Fermata is the singular term for a single hold symbol; fermate is its Italian-style plural referring to two or more such holds.