DEFINITIONS
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spiccato

[ spi-kah-toh; Italian speek-kah-taw ]
/ spɪˈkɑ toʊ; Italian spikˈkɑ tɔ /

adjective

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

Words nearby spiccato

sphyrotomy, spic, spica, spica bandage, spicate, spiccato, spice, spice islands, spiceberry, spicebush, spicebush swallowtail

Origin of spiccato

1840–50; < Italian, equivalent to spicc- (stem of spiccare to detach) + -ato < Latin -ātus -ate1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for spiccato

  • Spiccato is generally held to be more difficult than staccato; yet I myself find it easier.

    Violin Mastery|Frederick H. Martens

  • The martellato, a nuance of spiccato, should be played with a firm bowing at the point.

    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