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