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concerto

[kuh n-cher-toh; Italian kawn-cher-taw]
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noun, plural con·cer·tos, con·cer·ti [kuh n-cher-tee] /kənˈtʃɛr ti/. Music.
  1. a composition for one or more principal instruments, with orchestral accompaniment, now usually in symphonic form.
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Origin of concerto

1720–30; < Italian, derivative of concertare; see concert (v.)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

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British Dictionary definitions for concerto

concerto

noun plural -tos or -ti (-tɪ)
  1. a composition for an orchestra and one or more soloists. The classical concerto usually consisted of several movements, and often a cadenzaSee also sonata (def. 1), symphony (def. 1)
  2. another word for ripieno
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Word Origin

C18: from Italian: concert
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 concerto

n.

1730, from Italian concerto (see concert). Concerto grosso is from 1724.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
concerto in Culture

concerto

[(kuhn-chair-toh)]

A piece of instrumental music written for one or more soloists and an orchestra.

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.