Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Music At the discretion of the performer. Used chiefly as a direction giving license to alter or omit a part.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. At pleasure; to the extent of one's wishes. Specifically, in music, indicating that the time and expression of a passage are left to the feeling and taste of the performer. In the case of cadenzas and other ornaments, the phrase indicates that the performer may omit them or substitute others in their place. An accompaniment is said to be ad libitum when it may be used or omitted. Often abbreviated, in speech as well as writing, to ad lib.
GNU Webster's 1913
- At one's pleasure; as one wishes.
WordNet 3.0
- adv. without advance preparation
Etymologies
- Latin ad, according to + libitum, past participle of libēre, to please. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
““Farz,” or obligatory prayers and ad libitum with the”
“These tropes added to liturgical texts ad libitum were contained in special books,”
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 6: Fathers of the Church-Gregory XI
“+ The intonations or chants ad libitum, Asperges me, Gloria in excelsis, and the more solemn tones of the Prefaces must not be placed in the body of the Missal, but only at the end, in the forms of a supplement or appendix; to them (the ad libitum intonations or chants) may be added, either in the Missals or in separate publications of the chanted parts, the chants of the "Toni communes", already published in the "Gradual", which have reference to the sacred ministers.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘ad libitum’.
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The Latin Doctor is Greek to me
Biology Students, Gladiators, Devil Dogs & Harry Potter
et tu, semper fidelis, carpe diem, cui bono, pons asinorum, limbus, e pluribus unum, sine qua non, quidnunc, lacus oblivionis, quincunx, experimentum crucis and 128 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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MUSIC - ALL TERMS
With focus on non-classical styles, but not excluding terms of the latter.
banjo, accompaniment, acoustic bass, bass guitar, bass clef, ground, brass, cornet, Mute, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, arrangement and 866 more...
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cicatrix
scar tissue
minatory, naira, Cluniac, embracive, prolix, hierophant, timorous, adduce, veracious, dysphoric, sang-froid, vitiate and 503 more...
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JesusIsLord's Words
debauchery, plethora, wiki, numinous, wormwood, scribe, gelded, mithridate, orthogonal, jaculiferous, jaculate, jactitation and 415 more...
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Interesting words
ineffable, effable, immutable, amorphous, parochial, salient, ascertain, circumspect, congenial, coeval, aversion, edification and 117 more...
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srboisvert's Words
couverture, poffertjes, naif, endermatic, prepense, aspic, otalgia, curettage,, florid, piffling, pillock, mow and 164 more...
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Beautiful Music
a cappella, accelerando, accompagnato, adagio, ad libitum, agitato, aleatory, alla breve, allegro, allemande, alto, andante and 548 more...
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Words!
quixotic, lugubrious, laconic, terse, diaphanous, truculent, solipsism, meretricious, recondite, salacious, avuncular, obdurate and 229 more...
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jmjarmstrong's list
Words that I used to know.
geloscopy, hunker, willy nilly, harum scarum, whacko, meh, nork, misunderestimate, atrabiliousness, luftmensch, auxanometer, hyperhedonia and 1948 more...
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AdelaNightmoon's list
Lj Username possibilities
ad libitum, a la mort, a la belle étoile, acataleptic, aceldama, acushla, adumbral, adversaria, acronychal, ahypnia, amaranthine, ante mortem and 4 more...
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embellish
and embellishment and embellishing
trim, deck, dress, garnish, adorn, embroider, grace, decorate, aggrandize, dramatize, dramatise, pad and 64 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for ad libitum.
jmjarmstrong JM utters, on the spur of the moment, another ad libitum that is not only not written nor rehearsed but will replace some forgotten lines that he can't remember. Jun 27, 2010
skor_p_o ad libitum |ad ˈlibitəm|
adverb & adjective
more formal term for ad lib (sense 2).
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: Latin, literally ‘according to pleasure.’ Aug 20, 2009
artoparts Rx- use as much as one desires; freely. Feb 18, 2009