étude

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

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).

Nearby words

Origin of étude

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for etude

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
Etude sur l'Espece a l'occasion d'une revision de la Famille des Cupuliferes.
More Letters of Charles Darwin|Charles Darwin
Etude de polarité religieuse, in the Revue Philosophique, Dec., 1909.
The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life|Emile Durkheim
Etude sur les lettres, les arts et lindustrie pendant le quinzime sicle, vol.
The Story of Bruges|Ernest Gilliat-Smith

His "Gradus ad Parnassum" became the parent of Etude literature.
For Every Music Lover|Aubertine Woodward Moore

British Dictionary definitions for etude

étude

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

Word Origin and History for etude

etude

1837, from French étude, literally "study," from Old French estudie (12c.), from Latin studium (see study). Popularized in English by the etudes of Chopin (1810-1849).