non troppo

American  

[non trop-oh, troh-poh, nohn troh-poh, nawn trawp-paw] / nɒn ˈtrɒp oʊ, ˈtroʊ poʊ, noʊn ˈtroʊ poʊ, nɔn ˈtrɔp pɔ /

adverb

Music.

1. not too much.

   allegro non troppo.

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non troppo British  

/ ˈnɒn ˈtrɒpəʊ /

adverb

1. music (preceded by a musical direction, esp a tempo marking) not to be observed too strictly (esp in the phrases allegro ma non troppo, adagio ma non troppo )

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Etymology

Origin of non troppo

Borrowed into English from Italian around 1850–55

Example Sentences

Second phase, well, you might call it al legro ma non troppo and pretty nervy .

From Time Magazine Archive

"Medulla oblongata"—key of G. Then they began to sing That extremely lovely thing, "Scherzando! ma non troppo, ppp."

From The Book of Humorous Verse by Wells, Carolyn

In measure 29, allegro non troppo, we begin with a presentation of the motive in the usual first-movement mood.

From Music: An Art and a Language by Spalding, Walter Raymond

It is divided into four movements: Allegro brillante; In moda d'una Marcia; Scherzo; and Allegro ma non troppo.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 92, June, 1865 by Various

Non tanto allegro, or non troppo allegro—not too fast.

From Music Notation and Terminology by Gehrkens, Karl Wilson