staccato
[stuh-kah-toh]
- shortened and detached when played or sung: staccato notes.
- characterized by performance in which the notes are abruptly disconnected: a staccato style of playing.Compare legato.
- composed of or characterized by abruptly disconnected elements; disjointed: rapid-fire, staccato speech.
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- in a staccato manner.
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- performance in a staccato manner.
- a staccato passage.
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Origin of staccato
1715–25; < Italian: disconnected, past participle of staccare (derivative of stacca pole < Gothic, but taken as a variant of distaccare to detach)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
recurrencerepeatreiterationlitanyrhythmechorelationrestatementredundancyrenewalparaphrasereturnreappearancepracticerehearsalreplicationreportcopyrecapitulationchantExamples from the Web for staccato
Contemporary Examples
Cantonese, with its individual characters, also forces rappers to adopt a staccato lyricism.
Historical Examples
I dashed into my room but Meg's staccato reached me even there.
The Bacillus of BeautyHarriet Stark
Almost simultaneously the air resounded with staccato bursts.
Slaves of MercuryNat Schachner
Whatever of despair he felt did not appear in his staccato orders.
Slaves of MercuryNat Schachner
His face was set and his voice as he greeted O'Moy sharp and staccato.
The SnareRafael Sabatini
The ticking of the clock and the snapping of the fire mingled in a staccato duet.
The Dominant StrainAnna Chapin Ray
staccato
- music (of notes) short, clipped, and separate
- characterized by short abrupt sounds, as in speecha staccato command
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- (esp used as a musical direction) in a staccato manner
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Word Origin
C18: from Italian, from staccare to detach, shortened from distaccare
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 staccato
1724, from Italian staccato, literally "detached, disconnected," from past participle of staccare "to detach," shortened form of distaccare "separate, detach," from Middle French destacher, from Old French destachier "to detach" (see detach).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
staccato
[(stuh-kah-toh)]
A direction in music meaning that the notes should be performed in an abrupt, sharp, clear-cut manner.
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Note
The term staccato has been applied generally to things that occur in rapid bursts, such as gunfire.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.