Christopher Smith wrote:
Okay, so non-Finale-users have the opportunity to look [up the word
"tuplet"] and find out what it means. But I would REALLY like to know
where this word came from. I had never heard it before using Finale,
and I still only ever see it used by Finale users (the Wikipedia
article notwithstanding; I suspect it was written by a Finale user
(first entry 2004) and the word doesn't appear in any other
dictionary). Discussion on Wiki about the etymology of the word is
inconclusive (last entry Nov 2007 doesn't cite any sources for the
word, though someone tried to link it to the mathematical term "tuple"
meaning sequence.)
I always assumed that the programmers (or technical writers) for
Finale had invented the term. One user on Wiki claims to have used it
and read it long before Finale existed, but provides no citations.
I did not find any old references to "tuplet" either, but every
dictionary I consulted had definitions for "quintuplet", "sextuplet",
and "octuplet", including the oldest one I own, dating 1920's.
Personally, I've always considered "tuplet" to be an analog to "cello".
When I read either word, I interpret it as if including a prepended
apostrophe, with the understanding that while the latter a contraction
of specific instrument of "violincello", the former is a generic term
associated with any of the terms for multiple similar items. As such,
even if the usage of " 'tuplet " originated with Finale, it is hard to
imagine that its meaning is not readily apprehended.
ns
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