portamento

[ pawr-tuh-men-toh, pohr-; Italian pawr-tah-men-taw ]

/ ˌpɔr təˈmɛn toʊ, ˌpoʊr-; Italian ˌpɔr tɑˈmɛn tɔ /

noun, plural por·ta·men·ti [pawr-tuh-men-tee, pohr-; Italian pawr-tah-men-tee] /ˌpɔr təˈmɛn ti, ˌpoʊr-; Italian ˌpɔr tɑˈmɛn ti/, por·ta·men·tos. Music.

a passing or gliding from one pitch or tone to another with a smooth progression.

Nearby words

Origin of portamento

1765–75; < Italian: fingering, literally, a bearing, carrying. See port⁵, -ment

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for portamento

The portamento being an embellishment that pertains to the cantabile, it is very little used in declamatory singing.
Style in Singing|W. E. Haslam
Some minor effects utilized in Style in singing may be briefly alluded to: Portamento; variations of Tempo.
Style in Singing|W. E. Haslam
At one point the boys took a portamento—a grace which very few choirmasters would attempt with boys.
The Boy's Voice|J. Spencer Curwen
Both her portamento di voce and her volubility were declared to be unrivaled.
Great Singers, First Series|George T. Ferris

You, who know what is meant by singing with portamento, would find rare satisfaction in her singing of it.
Life Of Mozart, Vol. 1 (of 3)|Otto Jahn

British Dictionary definitions for portamento

portamento

/ (ˌpɔːtəˈmɛntəʊ) /

noun plural -ti (-tɪ)

music a smooth slide from one note to another in which intervening notes are not separately discernibleCompare glissando

Word Origin for portamento

C18: from Italian: a carrying, from Latin portāre to carry

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