Stimme

Stimme is a German noun with several related meanings centered on voice and voting. In everyday language it most often refers to the human voice or the sound produced when speaking or singing. It can also denote the tonal quality or timbre of a voice and, by extension, the “voice” or standpoint of a person, character, or institution in a given situation.

In music, Stimme denotes an individual melodic line or part in a polyphonic texture, regardless of the singer or instrument performing it. In scores and theory, several Stimmen make up the complete texture. A related term is Sprechstimme, a vocal technique associated with early 20th-century expressionism that blends spoken presentation with pitched singing.

In political and organizational contexts, Stimme is used to mean a vote. A single vote is “eine Stimme”; a person can “eine Stimme abgeben” or vote for someone; Stimmen (plural) are counted to determine a result. The phrase Stimmrecht refers to the right to vote, and die Stimmenmehrheit or Stimmenanteil describes the share of votes obtained.

Etymology: The word derives from Old High German and is related to other terms for sound and voice in Germanic languages.