staccato

views updated May 29 2018

stac·ca·to / stəˈkätō/ chiefly Mus. • adv. & adj. with each sound or note sharply detached or separated from the others: [as adj.] a staccato rhythm. Compare with legato, marcato.• n. (pl. -tos) performance in this manner. ∎  a noise or speech resembling a series of short, detached musical notes: her heels made a rapid staccato on the polished boards.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

staccato

views updated May 23 2018

staccato (It.). Detached. Method of playing a note (shown by a dot over the note) so that it is shortened—and thus ‘detached’ from its successor—by being held for less than its full value. Superlative is staccatissimo. For signs used to indicate degrees of staccato see diagram below.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE

staccato

views updated May 18 2018

staccato (mus.) with abrupt breaks between successive notes. XVIII. — It. staccato, pp. of staccare, aphetic of distaccare DETACH
.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

staccato

views updated May 17 2018

staccato. See concatenation.

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture JAMES STEVENS CURL

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