altissimo
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
(of music) very high in pitch
-
of or relating to the octave commencing on the G lying an octave above the treble clef
noun
Etymology
Origin of altissimo
1810–20; < Italian: literally, highest, equivalent to alt ( o ) high + -issimo superlative suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ms. Aldana has a dry but limpid sound on tenor and an expressive command that stretches into an altissimo register.
From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2016
There were free-improvised solos, altissimo saxophone squeals and loud, surging sections, but nothing became chaotic; a sense of space and order subsumed everything else.
From New York Times ● May 22, 2013
After her accidental discovery of C in altissimo, Soprano Sack perfected her coloratura.
From Time Magazine Archive
A young lady who forces her voice into altissimo, and a young gentleman who forces his mind into a receptacle for a chaos of crudities, are pretty much on a par.
From Gryll Grange by Peacock, Thomas Love
What English words can render the mystery of that unknown voice that calls out of the deep,— "Onorate 'l altissimo poeta, Torna sua ombra che era dipartita"?
From Emerson and Other Essays by Chapman, John Jay
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
