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piano nobile

American  
[pyah-naw naw-bee-le] / ˈpyɑ nɔ ˈnɔ bi lɛ /

noun

Italian.
piani nobili plural
  1. the principal story of a large building, as of a palace or villa.


piano nobile British  
/ ˈpjɑːnəʊ ˈnəʊbɪlɪ /

noun

  1. architect the main floor of a large house, containing the reception rooms: usually of lofty proportions

"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 piano nobile

Italian: great floor

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.

The operatic museum in which they reside has many rooms, even on the piano nobile that both by right will occupy.

From The Guardian • Jun. 20, 2013

March 2007 Belgian designer and antiques dealer Axel Vervoordt’s apartment is on the piano nobile of the 15th-century Palazzo Alverà in Venice, Italy.

From Architectural Digest • Mar. 1, 2010

The old man murmured something which Kitty did not understand, pointing at the same time to a door leading to the interior of the piano nobile.

From The Marriage of William Ashe by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

Kitty, seized with nervous fright, turned and ran down the broad staircase by which she had come, through the series of deserted rooms in the piano nobile, till she reached the great hall.

From The Marriage of William Ashe by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

They were in a room of the Palazzo Udeschini, at Rome—a reception room, on the piano nobile.

From The Cardinal's Snuff-Box by Harland, Henry

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