different between quintet vs duet

English

Alternative forms

• quintette

Etymology

From French quintette, from Italian quintetto, diminutive of quinto (“fifth”), itself from Latin quintus, related to qu?nque (“five”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kw?n?t?t/
• Rhymes: -?t

Noun

quintet (plural quintets)

1. (music) A composition (a type of chamber music) in five parts (typically each a singer or instrumentalist, sometimes several musicians)
2. (music) A group of five musicians, fit to play such a piece of music together
3. Any group of five members

Synonyms

• (group of five): pentad; see also Thesaurus:quintet

Translations

See also

• duo
• trio or triplet
• quartet
• sextet
• septet
• octet
• nonet
• chamber ensemble
• chamber orchestra

English

Etymology

From Italian duetto (“short musical composition for two voices”), diminutive of duo (“two”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dju??t/, /du??t/
• Rhymes: -?t

Noun

duet (plural duets)

1. (music) A musical composition in two parts, each performed by a single voice (singer, instrument or univoce ensemble).
2. (music) A song composed for and/or performed by a duo.
3. A pair or couple, especially one that is harmonious or elegant.

Synonyms

• (musical composition in two parts): duo
• (pair or couple): couple, pair, twosome; see also Thesaurus:duo

Related terms

• dual
• duo

Translations

Verb

duet (third-person singular simple present duets, present participle duetting or dueting, simple past and past participle duetted or dueted)

1. (intransitive) To perform a duet.
   • 1822, Lord Byron, Letter to Mr. Moore, Pisa, July 12, 1822, in The Letters of George Gordon Byron, edited by Mathilde Blind, London: Walter Scott, 1887, p. 277, [1]

     When you can spare time from duetting, coquetting, and claretting with your Hibernians of both sexes, let me have a line from you.

   • 1879, George Meredith, The Egoist, Chapter 20, [2]

     He was about as accordantly coupled with Dr. Middleton in discourse as a drum duetting with a bass-viol […]

   • 2011, Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending, Random House Canada, p. 45, [3]

     ‘Ti-yi-yi-yime is on my side, yes it is,’ I used to yodel, duetting with Mick Jagger as I gyrated alone in my student room.

2. (intransitive, zoology, of pairs of animals) To communicate (warnings, mating calls, etc.) through song.
   • 1975, Edward O. Wilson, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, Belknap Press, p. 223,

     Duetting species are typically monogamous.

   • 1986, Thomas A. Sebeok, I Think I Am a Verb: More Contributions to the Doctrine of Signs, New York: Springer Science+Business, 2013, Chapter 7, p. 87, [4]

     In several dozen species of birds there has been found a phenomenon known as duetting, or antiphonal singing: the first part of a song is executed by one partner of a pair, then the other partner very promptly chimes in to sing the second part.

3. (transitive) To perform (sing, play, etc.) as a duet.
   • 1939, James Joyce, Finnegans Wake, Oxford University Press, 2012, p. 377,

     Peena and Queena are duetting a giggle-for-giggle […]

   • 1941, Emily Carr, Klee Wyck, Chapter 1, [5]

     After the Lord's Prayer the Missionaries duetted a hymn while the children stared at me.

4. (transitive) (of two people) To say at the same time, to chorus.
   • 1864, Charles Whitehead, “The Stock-Broker” in Heads of the People: or, Portraits of the English, Volume I, London: Henry G. Bohn, p. 23, [6]

     “My dear papa!” duetted the girls; but there was something in the husband and father's face, that told the three ladies it would be worse than useless to raise that question at present.

   • 1884, Anonymous, A Speculation, Denver: D. M. Richards, Chapter 12, p. 50, [7]

     “A bear!” exclaimed the Major, jumping up and coming forward.

     “A bear!” dueted the Doctor and Right Rev., pressing hastily to the front.

Usage notes

• In the UK and other Commonwealth countries, the present and past participles of this verb are often spelled with a double T: duetted and duetting

See also

• solo
• trio
• quartet
• quintet
• sextet
• septet
• octet
• nonet

Anagrams

• 'tude, -tude, Deut., tude

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian duetto or German Duett (itself borrowed from Italian).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dy??t/
• Hyphenation: du?et
• Rhymes: -?t

Noun

duet n (plural duetten, diminutive duetje n)

1. A duet (musical piece performed by two players or two singers).
2. A ballet routine performed by two dancers.

Descendants

• Afrikaans: duet
• ? Indonesian: duet
• ? West Frisian: duët

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch duet, from Italian duetto or German Duett (itself borrowed from Italian).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?d?u?t??]
• Hyphenation: du?èt

Noun

duet (first-person possessive duetku, second-person possessive duetmu, third-person possessive duetnya)

1. duet (musical piece performed by two players or two singers).

Further reading

• “duet” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) Daring, Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, 2016.

Polish

Etymology

From German Duett, from Italian duetto.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?du.?t/

Noun

duet m inan (diminutive duecik)

1. (music) duet (group of two musicians)

   Synonym: duo

2. (music) duet (piece of music written for two musicians)

   Synonym: duo

3. duet (group of two people or things)

   Synonym: duo

Declension

Further reading

• duet in Wielki s?ownik j?zyka polskiego, Instytut J?zyka Polskiego PAN
• duet in Polish dictionaries at PWN