Link Centre Dictionary

staccato

stac·cato

UK/stəˈkɑːtoʊ/ US/stʌˈkɑˌtoʊ/ uncommon
adjective (1) adverb (1)

adjective

1.

marked by or composed of disconnected parts or sounds; cut short crisply

  • “staccato applause”
  • “a staccato command”
  • “staccato notes”
Synonyms
Antonyms
Similar

adverb

1.

separating the notes; in music

  • “play this staccato, please”
Antonyms

Origin

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.

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.