STACCATO


Meaning of STACCATO in English

I. stəˈkä]d.(ˌ)ō, -kȧ], ](ˌ)tō adjective

Etymology: Italian, from past participle of staccare to detach, short for distaccare, from Old Italian, from Middle French destacher, from Old French destachier — more at detach

1.

a. : cut short or apart in performing : disconnected

staccato notes

staccato chords

b. : marked by short clear-cut playing or singing of tones or chords

a staccato style

— compare legato

2. : having a sharp abrupt disjointed character or quality

the staccato voice of the telegraph called from settlement to settlement — J.D.Hart

the book is a series of staccato scenes — Joseph Frank

II. adverb

: in a staccato manner — often used as a direction in music; compare tenuto

III. noun

( plural staccatos -ōz ; or stacca·ti ]d.(ˌ)ē, ](ˌ)tē\)

1. : an abrupt and disconnected manner of performance (as of a musical instrument) ; also : a passage of music so performed

2. : something (as a manner of expression) that is broken up into brief sharp bursts

in his rapid conversational staccato — Dorothy C. Fisher

heard the chugging of a tractor, the staccato of its motor coming louder — Kay Boyle

IV. transitive verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

: to play, utter, or sound in a staccato manner

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.