The Cognātarium: Musical Terms

Word Stems Used in Musical Direction

Word	Stem	Definition
a tempo	tempor‒	in time, returning to the main tempo of the piece
accelerando	celer‒	accelerating; with gradually quickening tempo; compare ritardando
adagio		in a slow and leisurely manner
affettuoso	fect‒	(‘affected’) with feeling, tenderly
agitato	ag‒	excited and fast
all’ottava	oct‒	to be played an octave higher or lower
alla breve	brev‒	in 2/2 time; 2/2 time in which the half-note receives the beat
allargando	larg‒	gradually slower and with more power
allegretto		moderately fast; faster than andante but not as fast as allegro
allegro		fast; faster than allegretto but not as fast as presto
alto	alt‒	high
andante	an‒³	moderate in tempo (‘walking speed’)
andantino	an‒³	moderate in tempo, slower than andante
animato	anim‒	animated, lively
appassionato	pass‒²	in an impassioned manner, passionately
arioso	ari‒	airy, in the manner of an aria
baritone	bar‒²	the low “heavy” voice
bass	bas‒²	the low voice
crescendo	cres‒	gradual increase in loudness
descrescendo	cres‒	gradual decrease in loudness
diminuendo	minu‒	diminishing; gradual decrease in loudness
dolce	dulc‒	sweetly and softly
doloroso	dolor‒	sorrowfully, plaintively
fermata	firm‒	pause; a note to be held or sustained
forte	fort‒²	loudly; compare piano
fortissimo	fort‒²	very loudly, loudest; compare pianissimo
furioso	fur‒¹	furiously
giocoso	joc‒	with a lively, playful quality, gaily
glissando	gliss‒	sliding from one pitch to another
grandioso	grand‒	grandly; in a grand, noble style
grave	grav‒²	slow, solemn, dignified
grazioso	grat‒	gracefully; in a smooth, elegant manner
larghetto	larg‒	somewhat slow, but not as slow as largo
largo	larg‒	in a slow and stately manner
legato	lig‒²	in a smooth, even style, with no noticeable break between notes; compare staccato
lentissimo	lent‒¹	very slowly, slowest; compare prestissimo
lento	lent‒¹	slowly; compare presto
maestoso	major‒	(‘majestic’) with majesty or dignity
marcato	marc‒¹	with each note emphasized
moderato	mod‒	at moderate speed
obbligato	lig‒²	obligatory, not to be omitted
pianissimo	pia‒	very softly, softest; compare fortissimo
piano	pia‒	softly; compare forte
pizzicato		plucked, as a stringed instrument normally played with a bow
prestissimo	prest‒	very fast; faster than presto; compare lentissimo
presto	prest‒	in fast tempo; compare lento
ritardando	tard‒	gradually slowing; compare accelerando
scherzando		playfully
semplice	simpl‒	simply, plainly
sempre	sempr‒	in the same manner throughout, without varying
soprano	supra‒	over, above, beyond
staccato	tach‒¹	with distinct breaks between successive notes; compare legato
stringendo	string‒	with accelerated tempo, as toward a climax
tacet	tac‒	be silent for the specified period of time
tenor	ten‒¹	the tenor voice “holding” the melody
tenuto	ten‒¹	hold for the full value
vivace	viv‒	in a lively or spirited manner

57 entries found.

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