mezza voce

[ met-suh-voh-chey, med-zuh, mez-uh ]

adverb, adjective
  1. with half the power of the voice (used as a musical direction). Abbreviation: m.v.

Origin of mezza voce

1
Borrowed into English from Italian around 1765–75

Words Nearby mezza voce

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mezza voce in a sentence

  • The young singer should practice mezza voce, which simply means nothing more or less than "half voice."

  • Take her mezza voce and her phrasing in the second act of Monna Vanna, take them and bow down before them.

    The Merry-Go-Round | Carl Van Vechten
  • Francesco has a mezza voce, which might, by a stretch of politeness, be called baritone.

    New Italian sketches | John Addington Symonds
  • While studying an application he sang, mezza voce, the aria from Pagliacci.

    Crimes of Charity | Konrad Bercovici
  • Of this we may be sure, that no one can sing a good full tone unless he can sing a good mezza voce.

British Dictionary definitions for mezza voce

mezza voce

/ (ˈmɛtsə ˈvəʊtʃɪ, Italian ˈmɛddza ˈvotʃe) /


adverb
  1. music (in singing) softly; quietly

Origin of mezza voce

1
Italian, literally: half voice

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