In music, a
mordent is an
ornament indicating that the note is to be played with
a single rapid alternation with the note above or below. Like
trills, they can be
chromatically modified by a small
flat,
sharp or
natural accidental. The term entered English musical terminology at the beginning of the 19th century, from the German
Mordent and its Italian etymon,
mordente, both used in the 18th century to describe this musical figure. The word ultimately is derived from the
Latin (to bite).