Ca"dence (?), n. [OE. cadence, cadens, LL. cadentia a falling, fr. L. cadere to fall; cf. F. cadence, It. cadenza. See Chance.]

1. The act or state of declining or sinking. [Obs.]

Now was the sun in western cadence low.
Milton.

2. A fall of the voice in reading or speaking, especially at the end of a sentence.

3. A rhythmical modulation of the voice or of any sound; as, music of bells in cadence sweet.

Blustering winds, which all night long
Had roused the sea, now with hoarse cadence lull
Seafaring men o'erwatched.
Milton.

The accents . . . were in passion's tenderest cadence.
Sir W. Scott.

4. Rhythmical flow of language, in prose or verse.

Golden cadence of poesy.
Shak.

If in any composition much attention was paid to the flow of the rhythm, it was said (at least in the 14th and 15th centuries) to be "prosed in faire cadence."
Dr. Guest.

5. (Her.) See Cadency.

6. (Man.) Harmony and proportion in motions, as of a well-managed horse.

7. (Mil.) A uniform time and place in marching.

8. (Mus.) (a) The close or fall of a strain; the point of rest, commonly reached by the immediate succession of the tonic to the dominant chord. (b) A cadenza, or closing embellishment; a pause before the end of a strain, which the performer may fill with a flight of fancy.

Ca"dence, v. t. To regulate by musical measure.

These parting numbers, cadenced by my grief.
Philips.

• (music): a chord progression that comes at the closing of a musical phrase.
  
• (running): The number of steps per minute, around 180 to 200 for many successful distance runners.
  
• (cycling): the number of revolutions per minute of the cranks or pedals of a bicycle.
  
• (dance) a dance move which ends a phrase. For example, the cadence in a galliard step refers to the final leap in a cinquepace sequence.
  
• (military) A chant that is sung by military personnel while running or marching, also known as a jody call.
  
• In the modern marching band, a drum cadence (also called a walkbeat or street beat) is a work played exclusively by the percussion section as a purposefully emphasized means of providing a beat to marchers. These descend from early military marches, and are most often used during parades. They may also be played separately as pep songs, used while the band is marching onto the performance area, or even as dance breaks during field shows.
  
• In telephony, ring cadence refers to the ringing pattern heard by the person who dials a number, before the called party picks up the call.
  
• (fencing) The rhythm and sequence of a series of actions.