virtuoso
[vur-choo-oh-soh]
- a person who has special knowledge or skill in a field.
- a person who excels in musical technique or execution.
- a person who has a cultivated appreciation of artistic excellence, as a connoisseur or collector of objects of art, antiques, etc.
- Obsolete. a person who has special interest or knowledge in the arts and sciences; scientist; scholar.
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- Also vir·tu·os·ic [vur-choo-os-ik] /ˌvɜr tʃuˈɒs ɪk/. of, relating to, or characteristic of a virtuoso: a virtuoso performance.
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Origin of virtuoso
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for virtuosic
Contemporary Examples
This book is a virtuosic performance in original and tricksterish storytelling.
The quilts in the QSOS Obama project range from serious to humorous in theme and from competent to virtuosic in execution.
Historical Examples
The general airiness of the style is a particularly-noticeable feature of this piece of Chopin's virtuosic period.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and MusicianFrederick Niecks
virtuoso
- a consummate master of musical technique and artistry
- a person who has a masterly or dazzling skill or technique in any field of activity
- a connoisseur, dilettante, or collector of art objects
- obsolete a scholar or savant
- (modifier) showing masterly skill or brilliancea virtuoso performance
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Word Origin
C17: from Italian: skilled, from Late Latin virtuōsus good, virtuous; see virtue
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 virtuosic
virtuoso
n.
1610s, "scholar, connoisseur," from Italian virtuoso (plural virtuosi), noun use of adjective meaning "skilled, learned, of exceptional worth," from Late Latin virtuosus (see virtuous). Meaning "person with great skill" (as in music) is first attested 1743.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper