spiccato

[ spi-kah-toh; Italian speek-kah-taw ]

/ spɪˈkɑ toʊ; Italian spikˈkɑ tɔ /

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adjective

(of violin music) performed with short, abrupt, rebounding motions of the bow.

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Origin of spiccato

1840–50; <Italian, equivalent to spicc- (stem of spiccare to detach) + -ato<Latin -ātus-ate¹

Words nearby spiccato

sphyrotomy, spic, spica, spica bandage, spicate, spiccato, spice, spiceberry, spicebush, spicebush swallowtail, Spice Islands

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use spiccato in a sentence

Spiccato is generally held to be more difficult than staccato; yet I myself find it easier.
Violin Mastery|Frederick H. Martens
And in a technical way spiccato bowing, which many find so hard, has always been easy to me.
Violin Mastery|Frederick H. Martens
In light spiccato and staccato the detached notes should be played always with a single stroke of the bow.
Violin Mastery|Frederick H. Martens
In a very broad spiccato, the arm may be brought into play; but otherwise not, since it makes rapid playing impossible.
Violin Mastery|Frederick H. Martens

He cannot play spiccato or any of the 'bouncing' bowings, including various forms of arpeggios, with a poor stick.
Violin Mastery|Frederick H. Martens

British Dictionary definitions for spiccato

spiccato

/ (spɪˈkɑːtəʊ) music /

noun

a style of playing a bowed stringed instrument in which the bow bounces lightly off the strings

adjective, adverb

to be played in this manner

Word Origin for spiccato

Italian: detached, from spiccare to make distinct

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