{{Short description|Musical mnemonic}} {{italic title}} [[File:LiberUsualisEuouae.jpg|thumb|350px|right|A psalm-tone setting of the Gloria Patri in neumes, with two alternative melodies for the words {{lang|la|saeculorum Amen}} indicated with the abbreviation ''Euouae''.]]
'''''Euouae''''' ({{IPAc-en|j|uː|.|ˈ|uː|.|iː}} {{respell|yew|OO|ee}}; sometimes spelled '''''Evovae''''')<ref>[https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/euouae Euouae] in the ''Collins English Dictionary''</ref> is an abbreviation used as a musical mnemonic in Latin psalters and other liturgical books of the Roman Rite. It stands for the syllables of the Latin words {{lang|la|saeculorum Amen}}, taken from the Gloria Patri, a Christian doxology that concludes with the phrase {{lang|la|in saecula saeculorum. Amen}}. The mnemonic is used to notate the variable melodic endings ({{lang|la|differentiae}}) of psalm tones in Gregorian chant.
In some cases, the letters of ''Euouae'' may be further abbreviated to ''E—E''.<ref>Berry, Mary. "Evovae [Euouae]" in ''[http://www.grovemusic.com Grove Music Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516041031/http://www.grovemusic.com/ |date=2008-05-16 }}'' ed. L. Macy.{{full citation needed|date=August 2014}}</ref> A few books of English chant (notably Burgess and Palmer's ''The Plainchant Gradual'') make use of ''oioueae'' for the equivalent English phrase, "world without end. Amen".
According to ''Guinness World Records'', ''Euouae'' is the longest word in the English language consisting only of vowels, and also the English word with the most consecutive vowels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-english-word-consisting-only-of-vowels|title=Longest English Word Consisting Only of Vowels|work=Guinness World Records|accessdate=2016-01-23}}</ref> As a mnemonic originating from Latin, it is unclear that it should count as an English word; however, it is found in the unabridged ''Collins English Dictionary''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/euouae|title=euouae|work=Collins English Dictionary|accessdate=2016-01-23}}</ref>
Its all-vowel composition makes it an effective play for certain kinds of vowel-heavy ''Scrabble'' racks, and the plural form ("euouaes") means a bingo can be made in certain situations. Both the singular and plural forms of the word are contained within the official Collins Scrabble Words dictionary and various other acceptable competition dictionaries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=EUOUAE in Scrabble {{!}} Words With Friends score & EUOUAE definition |url=https://www.anagrammer.com/scrabble/euouae |access-date=2022-04-06 |website=Anagrammer Scrabble Word Finder |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=EUOUAE is a valid scrabble word |url=https://1word.ws/euouae |access-date=2022-04-06 |website=1word.ws |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=EUOUAE word definition from Scrabble Solver |url=https://www.scrabble-solver.com/define/euouae |access-date=2022-04-06 |website=www.scrabble-solver.com}}</ref>
A similar abbreviation, '''''Aevia''''' (or '''''Aeuia'''''), was used to abbreviate the word {{lang|la|Alleluia}} in medieval Office books. In Venetian and other Italian Office books of the 16th century, an equivalent abbreviation, ''Hal'a'', or ''Hal'ah'', can be substituted for ''Aevia''.<ref>{{cite Grove1900|wstitle=Aevia|author=William Smyth Rockstro|author-link=William Smyth Rockstro}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} * Apel, Willi: ''Gregorian Chant''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990. {{ISBN|0-253-20601-4}}. * Dyer, Joseph: «Roman Catholic Church Music» en ''[http://www.grovemusic.com Grove Music Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516041031/http://www.grovemusic.com/ |date=2008-05-16 }}'' ed. L. Macy. * Hiley, David: «Chant» in ''Performance Practice: Music before 1600'', eds. Howard Mayer Brown & Stanley Sadie. New York: W. W. Norton, 1990, pp. 37–54. {{ISBN|0-393-02807-0}} * Hiley, David: ''Western Plainchant: A Handbook''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995. {{ISBN|0-19-816572-2}}. * Levy, Kenneth: «Plainchant» in ''[http://www.grovemusic.com Grove Music Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516041031/http://www.grovemusic.com/ |date=2008-05-16 }}'' ed. L. Macy.
==External links== * {{Wiktionary-inline}}
Category:Medieval music theory Category:Music mnemonics