senza
Britishpreposition
Etymology
Origin of senza
Italian
Explanation
Senza is used in sheet music, but it isn't an instruction all on its own: It's Italian for "without," and it must be combined with another word to show what it is you're supposed to play or sing without. Senza pedale, for example, is a fairly common instruction in piano music, meaning "without pedal." (This refers to the sustain pedal, which can be used to allow notes to blend together.) Other instructions using senza include senza sordino, "without the mute," for violinists or trumpeters, and senza tempo, literally "without tempo" — meaning that there is no strict tempo for the passage, and performers should feel free to adjust or vary the tempo and rhythm to express whatever they want to express.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When Jen got to the front of the long line, she hesitantly mentioned she’d like a cup, not a cone, and asked if the apricot gelato was senza glutine.
From New York Times ● Jun. 26, 2014
Signor Nitti has already writen one book on the war, Europa senza Pace-Peaceless Europe.
From Time Magazine Archive
He describes himself as an uomo senza lettere—an unlettered man.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
The instrument is played from the same part of the score as the bass drum, unless otherwise indicated by senza piatti, or piatti soli if the bass drum is to remain silent.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8 "Cube" to "Daguerre, Louis" by Various
After a short intervening verse—leicht bewegt—where the first vision appears for a moment, the song is resumed, still in a kind of shadowy chase of slow flitting voices, senza espressione.
From Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies by Goepp, Philip H.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
