The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Cadence \Ca"dence\, n. [OE. cadence, cadens, LL. cadentia a
   falling, fr. L. cadere to fall; cf. F. cadence, It. cadenza.
   See Chance.]
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   1. The act or state of declining or sinking. [Obs.]
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            Now was the sun in western cadence low. --Milton.
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   2. A fall of the voice in reading or speaking, especially at
      the end of a sentence.
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   3. A rhythmical modulation of the voice or of any sound; as,
      music of bells in cadence sweet.
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            Blustering winds, which all night long
            Had roused the sea, now with hoarse cadence lull
            Seafaring men o'erwatched.            --Milton.
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            The accents . . . were in passion's tenderest
            cadence.                              --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.
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   4. Rhythmical flow of language, in prose or verse.
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            Golden cadence of poesy.              --Shak.
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            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.
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   5. (Her.) See Cadency.
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   6. (Man.) Harmony and proportion in motions, as of a
      well-managed horse.
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   7. (Mil.) A uniform time and place in marching.
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   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.
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   Imperfect cadence. (Mus.) See under Imperfect.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Cadence \Ca"dence\, v. t.
   To regulate by musical measure.
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         These parting numbers, cadenced by my grief. --Philips.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

cadence
    n 1: (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse [syn:
         meter, metre, measure, beat, cadence]
    2: the close of a musical section
    3: a recurrent rhythmical series [syn: cadence, cadency]