pizzicato

[ pit-si-kah-toh; Italian peet-tsee-kah-taw ]

/ ˌpɪt sɪˈkɑ toʊ; Italian ˌpit tsiˈkɑ tɔ /

Music.

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adjective

played by plucking the strings with the finger instead of using the bow, as on a violin.

noun, plural piz·zi·ca·ti

[pit-si-kah-tee; Italian peet-tsee-kah-tee]. /ˌpɪt sɪˈkɑ ti; Italian ˌpit tsiˈkɑ ti/.

a note or passage so played.

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Origin of pizzicato

1835–45; <Italian, past participle of pizzicare to pluck, pick, twang (a stringed instrument)

Words nearby pizzicato

pizza, pizzaiola, pizzaiolo, pizzazz, pizzeria, pizzicato, pizzle, p.j.'s, pk, pkg., pkt.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pizzicato in a sentence

As additional methods facilitating in some cases the transfer of stops must be named the "double touch" and the "pizzicato touch."
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
When playing upon a soft combination on the Great, the organist may draw the Swell to Great "pizzicato" coupler.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
And the third movement is got under way, till we reach a pizzicato passage which Sally begins playing with the bow by mistake.
Somehow Good|William de Morgan
At first only the string orchestra is heard, always pizzicato.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky|Modeste Tchaikovsky

Difficult pizzicato passages and runs in thirds and tenths at top speed are but as child's play to him.
Famous Violinists of To-day and Yesterday|Henry C. Lahee

British Dictionary definitions for pizzicato

pizzicato

/ (ˌpɪtsɪˈkɑːtəʊ) music /

adjective, adverb

(in music for the violin family) to be plucked with the finger

noun

the style or technique of playing a normally bowed stringed instrument in this manner

Word Origin for pizzicato

C19: from Italian: pinched, from pizzicare to twist, twang

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