coda
KOH-duh · noun
LatinItalianEnglish
Origin
Coda comes from Italian coda, meaning "tail," which traces back to Latin cauda.
Journey
The word entered English through Italian musical terminology, keeping its literal sense of "tail" to describe the closing passage that trails after a piece's main structure.
Related words
Coda is a doublet of queue and cola — all three descend from the same Latin root, cauda, having reached English by different routes.
More words
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