piano
1[ pee-an-oh, pyan-oh ]
/ piˈæn oʊ, ˈpyæn oʊ /
noun, plural pi·an·os.
a musical instrument in which felt-covered hammers, operated from a keyboard, strike the metal strings.
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DISCOVER THE INFLUENCE OF PORTUGUESE ON ENGLISH VIA THIS QUIZ!
We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?
Question 1 of 11
Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?
Origin of piano
1First recorded in 1795–1805; short for pianoforte
Words nearby piano
pianism, pianissimo, pianist, pianistic, pianistics, piano, piano accordion, piano bar, piano duet, pianoforte, piano hinge
Definition for piano (2 of 2)
piano2
[ pee-ah-noh; Italian pyah-naw ]
/ piˈɑ noʊ; Italian ˈpyɑ nɔ /
adjective
soft; subdued.
adverb
softly. Abbreviation: p, p.
Origin of piano
21675–85; <Italian: soft, low (of sounds), plain, flat <Latin plānusplain1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for piano
British Dictionary definitions for piano (1 of 3)
piano1
/ (pɪˈænəʊ) /
noun plural -anos
a musical stringed instrument resembling a harp set in a vertical or horizontal frame, played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike the strings and produce audible vibrationsSee also grand piano, upright piano
Word Origin for piano
C19: short for pianoforte
British Dictionary definitions for piano (2 of 3)
piano2
/ (ˈpjɑːnəʊ) /
adjective, adverb
music (to be performed) softlySymbol: p
Word Origin for piano
C17: from Italian, from Latin plānus flat; see plain 1
British Dictionary definitions for piano (3 of 3)
Piano
/ (Italian pjˈɑno) /
noun
Renzo. born 1937, Italian architect; buildings include the Pompidou Centre, Paris (1977; with Richard Rogers), the Potsdamer Platz redevelopment, Berlin (1998), and The Shard, London (2012)
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
Cultural definitions for piano
piano
A musical direction meaning “to be performed softly”; the opposite of forte. As the name of a musical instrument, it is short for pianoforte.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.