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prestissimo

[pre-stis-uh-moh; Italian pre-stees-see-maw]
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adverb
  1. (a musical direction) in the most rapid tempo.
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Origin of prestissimo

1715–25; < Italian: most quickly, superlative of presto presto
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for prestissimo

Historical Examples

  • Sebastiano quickened the time till he was playing it prestissimo.

    The Call of the Blood

    Robert Smythe Hichens

  • All this leads to a prestissimo finale of startling splendour.

    Franz Liszt

    James Huneker

  • Presto, prestissimo, vivacissimo, and prestissimo possibile—the most rapid tempo possible.

  • When one dies them, four or five times a week, he longs to hasten the course of events, to change the Andante to a Prestissimo.

    The Dominant Strain

    Anna Chapin Ray

  • Here the baby was kissed crescendo, prestissimo, till he laughed more than ever.

British Dictionary definitions for prestissimo

prestissimo

adjective, adverb
  1. to be played as fast as possible
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noun plural -mos
  1. a piece or passage directed to be played in this way
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Word Origin

C18: from Italian: very quickly, from presto fast
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