étude

[ ey-tood, ey-tyood, ey-tood, ey-tyood; French ey-tyd ]

/ ˈeɪ tud, ˈeɪ tyud, eɪˈtud, eɪˈtyud; French eɪˈtüd /

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noun, plural é·tudes

[ey-toodz, ey-tyoodz, ey-toodz, ey-tyoodz; French ey-tyd]. /ˈeɪ tudz, ˈeɪ tyudz, eɪˈtudz, eɪˈtyudz; French eɪˈtüd/.

a musical composition, usually instrumental, intended mainly for the practice of some point of technique.

study (def. 12).

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Origin of étude

From French, dating back to 1830–40; see origin at study

Words nearby étude

Etsy, Etta, Ettarre, -ette, et tu, Brute, étude, etui, et ux., et uxor, ETV, et vir

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How to use étude in a sentence

Etude sur les diverses grandeurs, Paris, Gauthier-Villars, 1897.
The Foundations of Science: Science and Hypothesis, The Value of Science, Science and Method|Henri Poincar
Unquī′etness, state of disturbance, restlessness; Unquī′etude, inquietude.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various
Varvara Pavlovna played a brilliant and difficult etude by Hertz very correctly.
A House of Gentlefolk|Ivan Turgenev
But why not select an easy Etude by Chopin and make a start?
Piano Playing|Josef Hofmann

Opus 10, No. 5, is the "Black Key" etude, so called because all the notes of the right hand are on black keys.
The Pianolist|Gustav Kobb

British Dictionary definitions for étude

étude

/ (ˈeɪtjuːd, French etyd) /

noun

a short musical composition for a solo instrument, esp one designed as an exercise or exploiting technical virtuosity

Word Origin for étude

C19: from French: study

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