pianoforte

American  

[pee-an-uh-fawrt, -fohrt, pee-an-uh-fawr-tee, -tey, -fohr-] / piˈæn əˌfɔrt, -ˌfoʊrt, piˌæn əˈfɔr ti, -teɪ, -ˈfoʊr- /

noun

1. a piano.

---

pianoforte British  

/ pɪˈænəʊˈfɔːtɪ /

noun

1. the full name for piano 1

---

pianoforte Cultural  

1. The full name of the piano, the common musical instrument with a board of black and white keys, eighty-eight in all. The keys operate hammers that strike wires. Pianoforte is Italian for “soft-loud”; it received this name because its level of loudness depends on how hard the player strikes the keys.

---

Etymology

Origin of pianoforte

1760–70; < Italian ( gravecembalo col ) piano e forte literally, (harpsicord with) soft and loud, equivalent to piano soft ( see piano ²) + forte loud ( see forte ²)

Example Sentences

By 1891, John had moved to Edinburgh and was living as a lodger with a widowed pianoforte maker, Richard Honeyman, 70, and his daughter, Helen, 45.

From BBC • Nov. 30, 2024

"I have played blindman's-buff and caught the corner of a particularly hard pianoforte with my forehead."

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2021

A providential accident nearby soon deposits a handsome injured gentleman at their school; his friends visit; and vivacious Miss Asquith, practical Miss Pffolliott and scientific Miss Franklin become busy with more than their pianoforte lessons.

From Washington Post • Aug. 4, 2015

The reason we call a piano "piano" is that it's a lot easier than its original name "pianoforte".

From New York Times • Jan. 15, 2015

Her eyes were too heavy to read, she wouldn’t play the pianoforte for fear of another embarrassing encounter, and she most certainly wouldn’t amuse herself with fantasies of what the feast was like.

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

Related Words

• grand piano
• instrument
• keyboard