andante

American  

[ahn-dahn-tey, an-dan-tee, ahn-dahn-te] / ɑnˈdɑn teɪ, ænˈdæn ti, ɑnˈdɑn tɛ /

adjective

1. moderately slow and even.

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noun

• andantes
  plural

1. an andante movement or piece.

andante British  

/ ænˈdænteɪ /

adjective

1. (to be performed) at a moderately slow tempo

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noun

1. a passage or piece to be performed in this manner

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• andantes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of andante

1735–45; < Italian: literally, walking, present participle of andare to walk, go ( see -ant); etymology disputed, but often alleged: < Vulgar Latin *ambitare, derivative of Latin ambitus circular motion, roundabout journey ( see ambit); perhaps, alternatively, early Latin borrowing < Gaulish *andā-, akin to Latin pandere to spread (hence, stride); compare passus step, pace (action noun *pand-tu- ), equivalent to Old Irish ēs footprint, track

Explanation

Use the word andante to describe a relatively slow, moderately paced tune. Your piano teacher might tell you to play a piece andante. The word andante, particularly common in classical music, is sometimes described as "at a walking pace." An andante movement in a symphony is faster than adagio but slower than allegro. Like so many musical words describing tempo, andante is Italian, a form of the verb andare, "to go." The Latin root, ambire, means "to go around" or "to go about."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

andante andantes

“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

The restored movement — the “Blumine” or “Flowerine” passage, marked andante con moto — offered an unexpected respite on the familiar journey of the First.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 20, 2023

The second act contains a suite of dances, including an exquisite pas de deux for two unidentified characters, set to the limpid andante from Mendelssohn’s String Symphony No. 9.

From New York Times ● Oct. 26, 2018

Until at one point during the lilting andante, one mortar crashed so close it caused a shudder that made the walls shake sufficiently to knock the viola player’s music stand over, felling his score.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 26, 2018

A typical paragraph of his shows what might be called the sonata form: an allegro, andante, and presto.

From Ivory Apes and Peacocks by James Huneker

In the pause that followed, the Music-Lover let himself drift quietly with the thoughts of peace and concord awakened by this loveliest of andantes.

From The Unknown Quantity A Book of Romance and Some Half-Told Tales by Henry Van Dyke

Night after night, and sometimes day after day, they rolled out their choruses in the great Speak House—solemn andantes and adagios, led by the clapped hand, and delivered with an energy that shook the roof.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 18 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson

In ordinary, accepted operatic form there were certain things to be expected;—recitatives, andantes, arias, choruses—all neatly laid out according to rule.

From Memoirs of an American Prima Donna by Clara Louise Kellogg

My mind wanders through adagios and andantes, gaping, longing to understand.

From An Autobiography by Catherine Helen Spence