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Showing results for pianoforte. Search instead for panfortes.
Synonyms

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

"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
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 ( piano 2 ) + forte loud ( forte 2 )

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.

I also include the pianoforte instrument in the arias, sometimes, for joyful moments — like the kisses of Zerlina, a little bit in the spirit of Mozart, what he would do.

From New York Times • Apr. 29, 2023

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

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2021

So the melodies remained intact, even when the arrangements became "lower and darker", as on the pianoforte rework of Never Gonna Give You Up.

From BBC • Oct. 23, 2019

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

“This present from the Campbells,” said she—“this pianoforte is very kindly given.”

From "Emma" by Jane Austen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.