lento

[ len-toh; Italian len-taw ]

/ ˈlɛn toʊ; Italian ˈlɛn tɔ /

Music.

adjective

slow.

adverb

slowly.

Nearby words

Origin of lento

1715–25; < Italian < Latin lentus slow

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

Examples from the Web for lento

The second waltz (in A minor; Lento) is of quite another, of a more retired and private, nature, an exception to the rule.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician|Frederick Niecks
Lento in basses of the strings a strain sounds like a basic motive, answered with harmonies in the wood.
Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies|Philip H. Goepp
The theme has an entirely new ring and answer when it enters Allegro after the Lento prelude.
Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies|Philip H. Goepp
The Lento movement of "Ibéria" is like some drowsy, disheveled gipsy.
Musical Portraits|Paul Rosenfeld

Of these, Lento and Bigorno are the most considerable, although Campittello gives its name to the canton.
Rambles in the Islands of Corsica and Sardinia|Thomas Forester

British Dictionary definitions for lento

lento

/ (ˈlɛntəʊ) music /

adjective, adverb

to be performed slowly

noun plural -tos

a movement or passage performed in this way

Word Origin for lento

C18: Italian, from Latin lentus slow

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 lento

lento

"slowly" (musical direction), 1724, from Italian lento "slow," from Latin lentus "flexible, pliant, slow, sluggish" (see lithe). Related: Lentissimo.