étude
Americannoun
-
études
plural
-
a musical composition, usually instrumental, intended mainly for the practice of some point of technique.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of étude
From French, dating back to 1830–40; see origin at study
Explanation
An etude is a short, tricky tune that a musician plays mainly for practice or to demonstrate skill. Many etudes are meant to be played on the piano. Well-known composers like Debussy and Chopin wrote piano etudes that continue to be used for teaching beginning musicians. There are also etudes composed for other instruments, like guitar, violin, and cello. In French, the word étude means "study," from the Latin studium, which also means "study," though it first meant "eagerness," from studere, "to be diligent."
Vocabulary lists containing etude
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
English Words Derived from French, List 8
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Under a Painted Sky
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
They even dared to parody South Korean girl group Blackpink for using a small part of a motif from Paganini's La Campanella étude in their song Shut Down.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2023
Even the third étude, rippling like sun-dappled brook, was undermined by an overly frenetic bass.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 14, 2019
So for now, no one should count on hearing a Sondheim piano fantasy or étude or whatever.
From New York Times ● Aug. 30, 2016
A Ligeti étude called “Disorder” “planted the seed,” said Mr. Molinaro, which led to his improvisatory “19/8,” whose title reflects the meter of the left hand.
From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2014
Where the class is a large one, the corresponding study is usually divided into two, so as to reduce the number in one étude to about thirty.
From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 20. July, 1877. by Various
Bowing modestly after making his Carnegie debut with a confident, supple, eventually dazzling performance of Chopin’s 27 études, the teenage pianist Yunchan Lim had given three eloquent encores of other Chopin works.
From New York Times ● Feb. 22, 2024
Eventually, he took a crack at writing some études himself.
From New York Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
Perhaps most valuable were standard-setting discs of the Chopin études, sonatas and nocturnes, as well as Brahms concertos with Riccardo Chailly and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.
From New York Times ● Nov. 4, 2021
Mr. Floyd’s non-operatic works include song and choral cycles, a piano sonata and a book of études, as well as symphonic movements.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 3, 2021
I have played scales and études for a long time; and have taken great pleasure in studying and industriously practising numerous compositions of Kalkbrenner and Hummel, under their own direction.
From Piano and Song How to Teach, How to Learn, and How to Form a Judgment of Musical Performances by Mary P. Nichols
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
