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  • largo
    largo
    adjective
    slow; in a broad, dignified style.
  • Largo
    Largo
    noun
    a town in W Florida.

largo

1 American  
[lahr-goh] / ˈlɑr goʊ /

adjective

  1. slow; in a broad, dignified style.


noun

largos plural
  1. a largo movement.

Largo 2 American  
[lahr-goh] / ˈlɑr goʊ /

noun

  1. a town in W Florida.


largo British  
/ ˈlɑːɡəʊ /

adjective

  1. to be performed slowly and broadly

"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

noun

  1. a piece or passage to be performed in this way

"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

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

Etymology

Origin of largo

From Italian, dating back to 1675–85; see origin at large

Explanation

Music played or sung largo is slow and dignified, giving it a serious or solemn vibe. There isn't a lot of hurried movement between beats in a largo piece, so you probably won't see many eighth or sixteenth notes. Largo literally means "wide" or "broad" in Italian — but what does "broad" mean in music? It means that performing the music slowly shouldn’t result in a greater focus on the individual notes and chords. Rather, the focus should be on the "big picture" of the music, giving a sense of each musical phrase and its place in the flow of the whole piece. In that way, even though the music is slow, the listener feels swept along on a current of movement.

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Vocabulary lists containing largo

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.

En particular, Sheinbaum Pardo quiere trabajar con negocios extranjeros para impulsar la inversión privada en investigación, con el objetivo a largo plazo de remodelar la economía de México.

From Science Magazine • May 8, 2024

Esas directrices identificaron dos formas de ayuda gubernamental como señales de que una persona era o sería una carga financiera: beneficios en efectivo y atención institucional a largo plazo.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2023

Pero a lo largo de los años, en medio de la reestructuración corporativa y la llegada de Vice News y BuzzFeed, más vanguardistas, la influencia de MTV News comenzó a desvanecerse.

From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2023

Los alojamientos a lo largo de la Ruta 66 astronómica van de lo rústico a lo lujoso.

From New York Times • Apr. 19, 2023

By comparing this to the longest-lasting written notes of the period, researchers have painstakingly teased out what composers might have expected from slower directions such as largo and adagio.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

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