noun / verb
descant
Discussion or commentary at length.
His brief answer grows into a descant on local politics.
Etymology
Latin dis- and cantus connect descant with a separate musical part. Elaborating in song supplied the figurative idea of expanding on a subject in extended discussion or commentary.
More examples
- She descants on gardening while we pull weeds.
- The essay ends with a descant on the value of solitude.
- Over dinner, he descanted on the failures of city government.
Forms
descant · descants · descanted · descanting