fugue
UK[fjuːɡ]US[fjuːɡ]
n
A piece of music in which one or more themes are introduced by one part and successively taken up by others and developed by interweaving the parts.
n
A period during which a person suffers from loss of memory, often begins a new life, and upon recovery remembers nothing of the amnesic period.
Etymology
The word 'fugue' entered English in the late 16th century from the French 'fugue' or the Italian 'fuga', both meaning 'flight'. These derive from the Latin 'fuga', meaning 'a running away, flight, escape', which itself comes from the verb 'fugere', 'to flee'. The musical term, which emerged in English around 1600, brilliantly captures the conceptual 'flight' of the theme as it is passed or pursued from one voice to another. The psychiatric sense, first recorded in the early 20th century, extends this metaphor to a state of mental 'flight' or escape from one's identity.
Analysis
The word is a simplex loanword from French. Its core morpheme is the French spelling 'fugue', directly adopted into English.
Examples
Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor is a masterpiece of Baroque organ music.
After the traumatic event, he experienced a dissociative fugue and was found living under a new name in another city.
The composer demonstrated great skill in the complex counterpoint of the four-voice fugue.