Dictionary.com

pizzicato

[ pit-si-kah-toh; Italian peet-tsee-kah-taw ]
/ ˌpɪt sɪˈkɑ toʊ; Italian ˌpit tsiˈkɑ tɔ /
Music.

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.

QUIZZES

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?
owl
crow
piranha
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of pizzicato

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

Words nearby pizzicato

pize, pizz., pizza, pizzazz, pizzeria, pizzicato, pizzle, p.j.'s, pk, pkg., pkt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for pizzicato

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