From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishnocturnenoc‧turne /ˈnɒktɜːn $ ˈnɑːktɜːrn/ noun [countable] APMa piece of music, especially a soft beautiful piece of piano music
Examples from the Corpus
nocturne• I continued to work on the Chopin nocturnes, kept on studying photography, did my developing and printing in the bathroom.• I wondered if Claude would be able to play the Chopin nocturne on the saxophone.• The premise of her nocturnes is that they need to be performed with a beautiful sound and a flexible, unbroken line.• Her flexible tempos breathe naturally, and she frequently makes the nocturnes sound as if they could be sung.• Try the melody of the nocturne if your hands will let you.• She disturbed the pattern of the nocturne.• The nocturne is yours, Rose - an expression of my feeling for you.• He had the unfinished nocturne and the portrait.Origin nocturne (1800-1900) French Latin nocturnus; → NOCTURNAL 