cabaletta
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cabaletta
1835–45; < Italian, alteration of coboletta stanza, diminutive of cob ( b ) ola, cobla stanza, couplet < Old Provençal cobla < Latin cōpula bond; see copula
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.
As she scrabbled for a laser pointer in her large handbag, her coloratura was comically on point, though she was inaudible in her middle range during the cabaletta.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 1, 2025
An associate director an ocean away didn’t realize he also planned to perform the cabaletta, the faster-moving second part.
From Washington Times • Apr. 26, 2020
The scene moves on to the gentle “Cielo a’ miei lunghi spasimi” before ending with “Coppia iniqua,” a raging cabaletta in which Bolena goes triumphantly to her death.
From New York Times • Sep. 25, 2011
Every cabaletta or other quick number is abridged, usually drastically, which upsets the balance between fast and slow tempos.
From New York Times • Apr. 12, 2011
In the succeeding cabaletta, which was brilliantly executed, Miss Patti took the high note E flat, above the line, with the greatest ease.
From The Mapleson Memoirs, vol II 1848-1888 by Mapleson, James H.
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.
