Mū'sic, n.
n. [Fr. musique, Pr. muzica, Sp., Pg., It., & Lat., musica, Gr. μουσική (sc. τέχνη), any art over which the Mus. presided, especially music, lyric poetry set and sung to music, from μουσικός, belonging to the Muses or fine arts, from μούσα.]
Sense 1. Melody or harmony; a succession of sounds so modulated as to please the ear, or a combination of simultaneous sounds in accordance or harmony.
What music, and dancing, and diversions, and songs are to many in the world, that prayers, and devotions, and psalms are to you. Law.
Sense 2. The science of harmonical sounds, which treats of the principles of harmony, or the properties, dependencies, and relations of sounds to each other.
Sense 3. The art of combining sounds in a manner to please the ear.
☞ Music is often used in composition to form words signifying that which relates to, contains, or is employed in producing, music, &c., and which need no special explanation; as, music-copyist, music-engraver, music-folio, music-license, music-loft, music-loving, music-mad, music-master, music-mistress, music-paper, music-printer, music-seller, music-shop, music-slate, music-smith (maker of the metal parts of piano-fortes, &c.), music-stand, music-stool, music-type, and the like.
Magic music, a game in which a person undertakes to find some article hidden by the rest of a company, or to do something privately agreed upon by them, being assisted by the music of a piano, or other instrument, which is played fast when he approaches the right place or person, and more and more slowly as he recedes from it.
*A pleasant game she thought; she liked it more Than magic music, forfeits, all the rest.* Tennyson.
— Music of the spheres, the harmony supposed by the ancients to be produced by the accordant movements of the celestial orbs.