staccato

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian staccato (“detached, disconnected”), past participle of staccare (“to detach, separate”), aphetic variant of distaccare (“to separate, detach”), from Middle French destacher (“to detach”), from Old French destachier (“to detach”), from des- ‎ atachier (“to attach”), alteration of estachier (“to fasten with or to a stake, lay claim to”), from estache (“a stake”), from Low Frankish *stakkā (“stake”), from Proto-Germanic *stakkaz, *stakô (“stick, stake”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“stick, stake”). Akin to Old High German stecko (“post”) (German Stecken (“stick”)), Old Saxon stekko (“stake”), Old Norse stakkr (“hay stack, heap”), Old English staca (“stake”). More at stake.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /stəˈkɑːtoʊ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːtəʊ

Noun

staccato (plural staccatos or staccati)

1. (music) An articulation marking directing that a note or passage of notes are to be played in an abruptly disconnected manner, with each note sounding for a very short duration, and a short break lasting until the sounding of the next note; as opposed to legato. Staccato is indicated by a dot directly above or below the notehead.
2. (music) A passage having this mark.
3. (figurative) Any sound resembling a musical staccato.

   According to the syllable-timed hypothesis, Spanish syllables as staccato.

   • 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 160:

     The tumultuous noise resolved itself now into the disorderly mingling of many voices, the gride of many wheels, the creaking of waggons, and the staccato of hoofs.

Translations

a style of playing short sharp notes

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 斷奏／断奏 (zh) (duànzòu)

• Finnish: staccato (fi), terävä soitto (adverb: terävästi)
• Greek: στακάτο (el) n (stakáto)
• Maori: patō
• Polish: staccato (pl) n
• Russian: стакка́то (ru) n (stakkáto)

Adverb

staccato (comparative more staccato, superlative most staccato)

1. (music) played in this style

   Now, play the same passage very staccato.

Adjective

staccato (comparative more staccato, superlative most staccato)

1. (music) Describing a passage having this mark.
2. Made up of abruptly disconnected parts or sounds.
   • 1891, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray:

     The same nervous staccato laugh broke from her thin lips, and her fingers began to play with a long tortoise-shell paper-knife.

   • 1960 October, P. Ransome-Wallis, “Modern motive power of the German Federal Railway: Part Two”, in Trains Illustrated, page 613:

     The water-level route, the whistle and the loud staccato exhaust of this great engine recalled most vividly memories of the New York Central Hudsons highballing along the Hudson River between Harmon and Albany!

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “music”): legato

Anagrams

• stoccata, toccatas

French

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adverb

staccato

1. staccato

Noun

staccato m (plural staccatos)

1. staccato

Further reading

• “staccato”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Etymology

From staccare (“to detach, separate”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /stakˈka.to/
• Rhymes: -ato
• Hyphenation: stac‧cà‧to

Participle

staccato (feminine staccata, masculine plural staccati, feminine plural staccate)

1. past participle of staccare

Adjective

staccato (feminine staccata, masculine plural staccati, feminine plural staccate, superlative staccatissimo)

1. disjointed, disunited, separate
2. loose (pages in a book)
3. (sports) outdistanced

Noun

staccato m (plural staccati)

1. staccato

Anagrams

• stoccata

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Italian staccato.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /stakˈka.tɔ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -atɔ
• Syllabification: stac‧ca‧to

Noun

staccato n (indeclinable, related adjective staccatowy)

1. (music) staccato (articulation marking directing that a note or passage of notes are to be played in an abruptly disconnected manner, with each note sounding for a very short duration, and a short break lasting until the sounding of the next note)

   Antonym: legato

2. (figurative, literary) staccato (any sound resembling a musical staccato)

Declension

Declension of staccato

	singular	plural
nominative	staccato	staccata
genitive	staccata	staccat
dative	staccatu	staccatom
accusative	staccato	staccata
instrumental	staccatem	staccatami
locative	staccacie	staccatach
vocative	staccato	staccata

or

Indeclinable

Adjective

staccato (not comparable, no derived adverb)

1. (music) staccato (describing a passage having this mark)

   Antonym: legato

Adverb

staccato (not comparable)

1. (music) staccato (played in this style)

   Antonym: legato

Further reading

• staccato I in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• staccato II in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• staccato III in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• staccato in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• staccato in PWN's encyclopedia

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Italian staccato.

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /staˈka.tɔ/

Noun

staccato m (plural staccati)

1. (music) staccato (a style of playing short sharp notes)

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Italian staccato.

Adverb

staccato

1. staccato

Swedish

Alternative forms

• stackato

Adverb

staccato (not comparable)

1. (music) staccato

Noun

staccato n

1. (music) staccato (with a clear break between each tone)
2. (music) staccato (staccato passage)
3. (figuratively) staccato (of for example a way of speaking)

Declension

Declension of staccato

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	staccato	staccatos
	definite	staccatot	staccatots
plural	indefinite	staccaton	staccatons
	definite	staccatona	staccatonas

Antonyms

• legato

References

• staccato in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• stackato in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• stackato in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)