presto
[pres-toh]
- quickly, rapidly, or immediately.
- at a rapid tempo (used as a musical direction).
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- quick or rapid.
- executed at a rapid tempo (used as a musical direction).
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- Music. a movement or piece in quick tempo.
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Origin of presto
1590–1600; < Italian: quick, quickly < Late Latin praestus (adj.) ready, Latin praestō (adv.) at hand
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for presto
Contemporary Examples
And presto: polio returned—first in Nigeria then across Africa and into Asia, following an established migration pattern.
Toss a Cinderella- or Stockholm Syndrome-type victim into the mix and presto!
Historical Examples
Suddenly a little whiff of air enters the pile, when, presto!
A presto ingeniously represents the quick movements of the stag.
The Standard OratoriosGeorge P. Upton
A slight motion of one of my feet at this juncture, however, and, presto!
My Studio NeighborsWilliam Hamilton Gibson
Then my success is certain; I think you'll say so when I draw the curtain, And, presto!
The English SpyBernard Blackmantle
Then presto—the sun moves round, and my window is transformed!
The Story of GlassSara Ware Bassett
presto
- music to be played very fast
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- immediately, suddenly, or at once (esp in the phrase hey presto)
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- music a movement or passage directed to be played very quickly
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Word Origin
C16: from Italian: fast, from Late Latin praestus (adj) ready to hand, Latin praestō (adv) present
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for presto
adv.
1590s, "quickly," used by conjurers, etc., from Italian presto "quick, quickly" in conjuror's patter, from Latin praestus "ready," praesto (adv.) "ready, available," from prae "before" (see pre-) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Cf. Latin praesto esse "to be at hand, be ready," source of French prêt "ready." As a musical direction, it is a separate borrowing from Italian, first recorded 1683.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper