fugue

Where does the word "fugue" come from? It comes from Latin fugere, passing through Italian and English before entering English (1660s).

Fugue’s story begins in Latin: fugere meant “to flee; a fleeing.” The verb of fleeing, giving the noun fuga. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Italian as fuga. Kept the literal sense of flight. From there it passed into English as fuge by 1590s. Borrowed for a musical form where one melodic voice seems to flee and others pursue it. It reached English by 1660s as fugue. The spelling was refashioned after the French rendering of the Italian word. Today, fugue means a contrapuntal musical composition in which a theme is introduced and developed by imitation.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient fugere "to flee; a fleeing", the verb of fleeing, giving the noun fuga.
2. Stage 2 · Italian · medieval fuga "flight", kept the literal sense of flight.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1590s fuge "a musical form of imitative voices", borrowed for a musical form where one melodic voice seems to flee and others pursue it.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1660s fugue "a contrapuntal musical composition", the spelling was refashioned after the French rendering of the Italian word.