Staccato Definition

stə-kätō
staccato, staccatos
adjective
Cut short crisply; detached.
Staccato octaves.
American Heritage
With distinct breaks between successive tones.
Webster's New World
Made up of abrupt, distinct elements or sounds.
A staccato outburst of gunfire.
Webster's New World
(music) Describing a passage having this mark.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
noun
Something, as a speech pattern, that is staccato.
Webster's New World
(music) A passage having this mark.
Wiktionary
adverb
So as to be staccato; in a staccato manner.
Webster's New World
(music) Played in this style.
Now, play the same passage very staccato.
Wiktionary
Antonyms:

Other Word Forms of Staccato

Noun

Singular:
staccato
Plural:
staccatos

Origin of Staccato

  • 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- +"Ž attachier (“to attach"), alteration of estachier "to fasten with or to a stake, lay claim to" from estach(e) "a stake", from Low Frankish *stakka "stake", from Proto-Germanic *stakkaz, *stakkÄ“n (“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.

    From Wiktionary

  • Italian past participle of staccare to detach short for distaccare from obsolete French destacher from Old French destachier detach

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Staccato Sentence Examples

  • While still in the anteroom Prince Andrew heard loud voices and a ringing staccato laugh--a laugh such as one hears on the stage.

  • For example, in sheet music there are symbols (crescendos) to indicate that the volume of the song should slowly increase, symbols to play a note short and sharply (staccato) and more.

  • Another sub-genre, isikhwela jo, favored harsh, staccato vocals over mbube's softer melodies and fell out of favor in the 1940s.

  • He 's sitting there, unkempt, in front of an ancient typewriter into which two fingers punch a staccato rhythm.

  • Be forewarned; some tablature books highlight the full dynamics of a song in tab notation like hammer-on's and staccato notes.

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Words Starting With

SSTSTA

Words Ending With

OTOATO

Unscrambles

staccato

Words Starting With S and Ending With O

Starts With S & Ends With OStarts With ST & Ends With OStarts With S & Ends With TO

Word Length

8 Letter Words8 Letter Words Starting With S8 Letter Words Ending With O