rubato
[ roo-bah-toh; Italian roo-bah-taw ]
adjective
having certain notes arbitrarily lengthened while others are correspondingly shortened, or vice versa.
noun,plural ru·ba·tos, ru·ba·ti [roo-bah-tee; Italian roo-bah-tee]. /ruˈbɑ ti; Italian ruˈbɑ ti/.
a rubato phrase or passage.
a rubato performance.
adverb
in a rubato manner.
Origin of rubato
11880–85; <Italian (tempo) rubato stolen (time), past participle of rubare to steal <Germanic; see rob
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use rubato in a sentence
Some pieces, apparently of a later date, are from the manufactory of Pasquale Rubati, and usually signed with his initials.
The Collector's Handbook to Keramics of the Renaissance and Modern Periods | William Chaffers
British Dictionary definitions for rubato
rubato
/ (ruːˈbɑːtəʊ) music /
nounplural -tos
flexibility of tempo in performance
adjective, adverb
to be played with a flexible tempo
Origin of rubato
1C19: from the Italian phrase tempo rubato, literally: stolen time, from rubare to rob
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
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