arpeggio

[ ahr-pej-ee-oh, -pej-oh ]
See synonyms for arpeggio on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural ar·peg·gi·os.Music.
  1. the sounding of the notes of a chord in rapid succession instead of simultaneously.

  2. a chord thus sounded.

Origin of arpeggio

1
1735–45; <Italian: literally, a harping, noun derivative of arpeggi(are) to play on the harp (<Germanic; compare Old English hearpi(g)an to harp)
  • Also called broken chord.

Other words from arpeggio

  • ar·peg·gi·at·ed, ar·peg·gi·oed, adjective

Words Nearby arpeggio

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use arpeggio in a sentence

  • We started with some scales and arpeggios, and then I had a book of sonatinas that I’d bought when I got the piano, and we decided to work from there.

    My nemesis, the piano | Doree Shafrir | August 27, 2021 | Vox
  • It is doubtful whether even the forms most peculiar to him (such as the arpeggio-prelude) are of his invention.

  • Begin by making the class sing them in arpeggio, and in a definite rhythm, so as to get precision.

    Music As A Language | Ethel Home
  • He gloats a while over the Second's gloomy outlook, and yawns in that irritating arpeggio, the foretaste of a good sound sleep.

    Merchantmen-at-Arms | David W. Bone
  • In a large number of his themes the arpeggio predominates, and always with a special interest and a special personality.

  • All this had been the merest muted arpeggio accompaniment to the steady practical advance of her housekeeper's mind.

    The Brimming Cup | Dorothy Canfield Fisher

British Dictionary definitions for arpeggio

arpeggio

/ (ɑːˈpɛdʒɪəʊ) /


nounplural -gios
  1. a chord whose notes are played in rapid succession rather than simultaneously

  2. an ascending and descending figuration used in practising the piano, voice, etc

Origin of arpeggio

1
C18: from Italian, from arpeggiare to perform on the harp, from arpa harp

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012