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vivace

[vi-vah-chey; Italian vee-vah-che]
adverb, adjective
  1. (a musical direction) vivacious; lively.
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Origin of vivace

1675–85; < Italian < Latin vīvāc-, stem of vīvāx, long-lived, lively; see vivacity
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for vivace

Historical Examples of vivace

  • She was in the habit of walking to mass at the cathedral with her maid Vivace.

    Terribly Intimate Portraits

    Nol Coward

  • The third movement is a vivace with the spirit of a Beethoven presto.

  • The vivace of the A major symphony strikes, no less, as objective.

  • She came to the end of the vivace movement, and abandoned her piece.

    Aaron's Rod

    D. H. Lawrence

  • Le souvenir de la Stilla, vivace comme au premier jour, tait identifi son existence.

British Dictionary definitions for vivace

vivace

adjective, adverb
  1. music to be performed in a brisk lively manner
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Word Origin for vivace

C17: from Italian, from Latin vīvax long-lived, vigorous, from vīvere to live
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

Word Origin and History for vivace

1680s, from Italian vivace "brisk, lively," from Latin vivac-, stem of vivax "lively vigorous" (see vivacity).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper