allegretto

[al-i-gret-oh; Italian ahl-le-gret-taw]Music.

adjective, adverb

light, graceful, and moderately fast in tempo.

noun, plural al·le·gret·tos.

an allegretto movement.

Origin of allegretto

1730–40; < Italian, equivalent to allegr(o) allegro + -etto -et

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for allegretto

Historical Examples of allegretto

This Allegretto is continued until the theme is taken up in C minor.
Life of Beethoven
Anton Schindler
Allegretto energicamente, two-four, a merry, quick-step movement of two eight-bar periods.
Nicolo Paganini: His Life and Work
Stephen Samuel Stratton
The stillness of night and the shimmering moonlight are in the delicate harmonies of (Allegretto) strings.
Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies
Philip H. Goepp
Simple as the Allegretto appears in its suggestion of halting dance, the intent in the episodes is of the subtlest.
Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies
Philip H. Goepp
The first of the Eastern dances (allegretto quasi andante) is based upon a Turkish song in 6-8 measure.
The Russian Opera
Rosa Newmarch

British Dictionary definitions for allegretto

allegretto

adjective, adverb

(to be performed) fairly quickly or briskly

noun plural -tos

a piece or passage to be performed in this manner

Word Origin for allegretto

C19: diminutive of allegro

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

Word Origin and History for allegretto

1740, from Italian allegretto, diminutive of allegro (q.v.).