remplissage

Definitions

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  • noun (noun) That which serves only to fill up space; filling; padding: used specifically in literary and musical criticism.

Examples

  • And upon this depend entirely all the admirable observations he has there made, concerning the ill effects which a crowded harmony, and the 'remplissage' of chords, have upon musical expression.

    Aristotle's Treatise on Poetry

  • With the exception of these, and a single duet, justice compels us to say that the rest was mere remplissage.

    The Harmonicon

  • 'Every one,' my dear fellow, is too much to say, for the world's full of the crudest remplissage. The book of life's padded, ah but padded--a deplorable want of editing!

    Henry James, The Tragic Muse

Note

‘Remplissage’ is French for ‘filling.’ It also refers to a medical procedure done to treat shoulder instability.