glissando

[ gli-sahn-doh ]

adjective
  1. performed with a gliding effect by sliding one or more fingers rapidly over the keys of a piano or strings of a harp.

noun,plural glis·san·di [gli-sahn-dee]. /glɪˈsɑn di/.
  1. a glissando passage.

  2. (in string playing) a slide.

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Origin of glissando

1
1870–75; <French gliss(er) to slide + Italian -ando gerund ending

Words Nearby glissando

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

How to use glissando in a sentence

  • In the second measure there is an almost inaudible tone at the end of the glissando.

    The Tinguian | Fay-Cooper Cole

British Dictionary definitions for glissando

glissando

/ (ɡlɪˈsændəʊ) /


nounplural -di (-diː) or -dos
  1. a rapidly executed series of notes on the harp or piano, each note of which is discretely audible

  2. a portamento, esp as executed on the violin, viola, etc

Origin of glissando

1
C19: probably Italianized variant of glissade

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