alla prima

[ ah-luh pree-muh ]

/ ˈɑ lə ˈpri mə /

noun Fine Arts.

a painting technique in which a canvas is completed in one session, often having a thickly applied impasto.

Nearby words

all-weather, all-wheel drive, all-year, alla breve, alla marcia, alla prima, alla vostra salute, allachesthesia, allah, allahabad, allahu akbar

Origin of alla prima

< Italian: literally, at the first

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for alla prima

alla prima

/ (ˈɑːlɑː ˈpriːmə) /

adjective

(of a painting) painted with a single layer of paint, in contrast to paintings built up layer by layer

Word Origin for alla prima

C19: from Italian: at once

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