adagio

American  

[uh-dah-joh, -zhee-oh, ah-dah-jaw] / əˈdɑ dʒoʊ, -ʒiˌoʊ, ɑˈdɑ dʒɔ /

adverb

1. Music. in a leisurely manner; slowly.

---

adjective

1. Music. slow.

noun

plural

adagios

1. Music. an adagio movement or piece.

2. Dance.

   1. a sequence of well-controlled, graceful movements performed as a display of skill.

   2. a duet by a man and a woman or mixed trio emphasizing difficult technical feats.

   3. (especially in ballet) a love-duet sequence in a pas de deux.

adagio British  

/ əˈdɑːdʒɪˌəʊ, aˈdadʒo /

adjective

1. (to be performed) slowly

---

noun

1. a movement or piece to be performed slowly

2. ballet a slow section of a pas de deux

adagio Cultural  

1. A very slow musical tempo.

---

Etymology

Origin of adagio

1740–50; < Italian, for ad agio at ease; agio < Old Provençal ais or Old French aise ( ease )

Explanation

In music, the term adagio means played slowly. If a symphony has an adagio movement, it's a section that's played at a slow tempo. Adagio can be an instruction on a piece of sheet music, directing the musician to play slowly, or it can be a description of a musical interlude. Sometimes a composition has the word adagio in its title, like Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings." The origin of adagio is the Italian phrase ad agio, in which ad means "at" or "to," and agio means "leisure."

Example Sentences

Whatever happens in this trial, it will happen at a pace that makes an adagio tempo feel like an all-out sprint.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 2, 2023

It takes a few tries, but the adagio comes.

From New York Times • May 24, 2023

“I have long been thinking of abandoning these nonsensical terms allegro, andante, adagio, presto,” Beethoven wrote in an 1817 letter to Hofrat von Mosel, “and Mälzel’s metronome gives us the best opportunity to do so.”

From Seattle Times • Feb. 21, 2023

Like the Weber, Farrenc’s Third packs a punch early with the first movement’s surge from adagio to allegro, effervescently realized across the strings on Thursday.

From Washington Post • Feb. 18, 2022

By comparing this to the longest-lasting written notes of the period, researchers have painstakingly teased out what composers might have expected from slower directions such as largo and adagio.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall