staccato
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian staccato (“detached, disconnected”), past participle of staccare (“to detach, separate”), aphetic variant of distaccare (“to separate, detach”), from Middle French destacher (“to detach”), from Old French destachier (“to detach”), from des- + atachier (“to attach”), alteration of estachier (“to fasten with or to a stake, lay claim to”), from estache (“a stake”), from Low Frankish *stakka (“stake”), from Proto-Germanic *stakkaz, *stakkēn (“stick, stake”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“stick, stake”). Akin to Old High German stecko (“post”) (German Stecken (“stick”)), Old Saxon stekko (“stake”), Old Norse stakkr (“hay stack, heap”), Old English staca (“stake”). More at stake.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /stəˈkɑːtoʊ/
Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -ɑːtəʊ
Noun
staccato (plural staccatos or staccati)
- (music) An articulation marking directing that a note or passage of notes are to be played in an abruptly disconnected manner, with each note sounding for a very short duration, and a short break lasting until the sounding of the next note; as opposed to legato. Staccato is indicated by a dot directly above or below the notehead.
- (music) A passage having this mark.
- (figurative) Any sound resembling a musical staccato.
- 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 160:
- The tumultuous noise resolved itself now into the disorderly mingling of many voices, the gride of many wheels, the creaking of waggons, and the staccato of hoofs.
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Translations
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Adverb
staccato (comparative more staccato, superlative most staccato)
- (music) played in this style
- Now, play the same passage very staccato.
Adjective
staccato (comparative more staccato, superlative most staccato)
- (music) Describing a passage having this mark.
- Made up of abruptly disconnected parts or sounds.
- 1891, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray:
- The same nervous staccato laugh broke from her thin lips, and her fingers began to play with a long tortoise-shell paper-knife.
- 1960 October, P. Ransome-Wallis, “Modern motive power of the German Federal Railway: Part Two”, in Trains Illustrated, page 613:
- The water-level route, the whistle and the loud staccato exhaust of this great engine recalled most vividly memories of the New York Central Hudsons highballing along the Hudson River between Harmon and Albany!
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Antonyms
- (music): legato
Anagrams
- stoccata, toccatas
French
Adverb
staccato
- staccato
Noun
staccato m (plural staccatos)
- staccato
Further reading
- “staccato”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Italian
Etymology
From staccare (“to detach, separate”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /stakˈka.to/
- Rhymes: -ato
- Hyphenation: stac‧cà‧to
Participle
staccato (feminine staccata, masculine plural staccati, feminine plural staccate)
- past participle of staccare
Adjective
staccato (feminine staccata, masculine plural staccati, feminine plural staccate, superlative staccatissimo)
- disjointed, disunited, separate
- loose (pages in a book)
- (sports) outdistanced
Noun
staccato m (plural staccati)
- staccato
Anagrams
- stoccata
Polish
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian staccato.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /stakˈka.tɔ/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -atɔ
- Syllabification: stac‧ca‧to
Noun
staccato n
- (music) staccato (a style of playing short sharp notes)
Declension
| singular | |
|---|---|
| nominative | staccato |
| genitive | staccata |
| dative | staccatu |
| accusative | staccato |
| instrumental | staccatem |
| locative | staccacie |
| vocative | staccato |
Further reading
- staccato in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- staccato in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Portuguese
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from Italian staccato.[1][2]
Pronunciation
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /staˈka.tɔ/
Noun
staccato m (uncountable)
- (music) staccato (a style of playing short sharp notes)
References
- “staccato” in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2023.
- “staccato” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.
Romanian
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from Italian staccato.
Adverb
staccato
- staccato