athematicadj.
/aθɪˈmatɪk//eɪθɪˈmatɪk//aθiːˈmatɪk//eɪθiːˈmatɪk/ 1. Grammar. Of verb-forms: having suffixes attached immediately to the verb-stem without a connecting (thematic) vowel; also used of nouns (see quot. 1959). Hence used of languages which have such verb-forms.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > verb > [adjective] > with connecting vowel > not
unthematic1888
athematic1894
non-thematic1933
1894 W. M. Lindsay Lat. Lang. viii. 454 In Latin almost every athematic verb becomes thematic in 1 Sg. Pres. Ind.
1959 A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. xi. 255 Place-names of Celtic origin seem frequently to adopt the forms of the athematic nouns in OE, having gen. sg. in -e, otherwise no endings, e.g. a. and d.s. Cent Kent.
2. Music. Lacking, or not composed of, deliberate themes.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > [adjective] > style of composition
grandc1666
romantic1836
routinier1837
parodistic1845
rococo1868
virtuose1873
virtuosic1879
galant1884
polymorphous1890
monothematic1894
rococo1904
impressionistic1908
salon1914
gallant1925
athematic1935
non-thematic1946
minimalistic1947
stochastic1958
progressive1963
minimal1968
post-minimal1971
minimalist1977
1935 Musical Times Oct. 942/1 The three main forces of the universe..are each symbolised, not by themes—because the music [of Hábas] is athematic—but by the character of the thematic material and the orchestration.
1959 Listener 22 Oct. 704/2 The symphony is described by the composer [sc. Gerhard] as ‘athematic’ (the literal antonym of ‘thematic’), from which it is obvious that each part, while indispensable to the whole, is meaningless when divorced from its context.
1960 20th Cent. Nov. 460 Webern..adopted Schönberg's serial technique to organize this athematic music.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
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adj.1894