Standard Lemma guide

leitmotif

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈlaɪt.məʊˌtiːf/
  • US: /ˈlaɪt.moʊˌtif/
  • US, nonstandard: /ˈleɪt.moʊˌtif/
  • US, nonstandard: /ˈlaɪt.moʊˌtɪv/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: L AY1 T M OW0 T IY2 F Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A melodic theme associated with a particular character, place, thing or idea in an opera.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A recurring theme.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: common thread

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a melodic phrase that accompanies the reappearance of a person or situation (as in Wagner's operas)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: leitmotiv

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: tune, melody, air, strain, melodic line, line, melodic phrase

History

Etymology

From German Leitmotiv (“leading motif”), from leiten (“to lead”) + Motiv (“motif”), originally used to describe Wagnerian opera. The spelling was influenced by motif.

Across languages

Translations

22 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: լեյտմոտիվ (leytmotiv) — melodic theme in an opera
  • Chinese Mandarin: 主題 /主题 (zhǔtí) — melodic theme in an opera
  • Finnish: johtoaihe — melodic theme in an opera
  • French: leitmotiv — melodic theme in an opera
  • German: Leitmotiv — melodic theme in an opera
  • Greek: λάιτ μοτίβ (láit motív) — melodic theme in an opera
  • Hungarian: vezérmotívum — melodic theme in an opera
  • Icelandic: leiðarstef — melodic theme in an opera
  • Polish: leitmotiv — melodic theme in an opera
  • Portuguese: leitmotiv — melodic theme in an opera
  • Russian: лейтмоти́в (lejtmotív) — melodic theme in an opera
  • Russian: лейттема (lejttema) — melodic theme in an opera
  • Spanish: leitmotif — melodic theme in an opera
  • Swedish: ledmotiv — melodic theme in an opera
  • French: leitmotiv — recurring theme
  • French: thème récurrent — recurring theme
  • French: fil conducteur — recurring theme
  • French: fil rouge — recurring theme
  • Polish: motyw przewodni — recurring theme
  • Polish: leitmotiv — recurring theme
  • Portuguese: leitmotiv — recurring theme
  • Spanish: leitmotif — recurring theme