Dictionary.com

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.

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Origin of portamento

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

Words nearby portamento

portal system, portal-systemic encephalopathy, portal-to-portal, portal-to-portal pay, portal vein, portamento, portance, Port Angeles, Porta-Potti, port arms, Port Arthur
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for portamento

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