| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
| |
| adagio |
| |
| SYLLABICATION: | a·da·gio |
| PRONUNCIATION: |   -dä j , -j - , -zh, -zh- |
| ADVERB & ADJECTIVE: | Music In a slow tempo, usually considered to be slower than andante but faster than larghetto. Used chiefly as a direction. | | NOUN: | Inflected forms: pl. a·da·gios
1. Music A slow passage, movement, or work, especially one using adagio as the direction. 2. A section of a pas de deux in which the ballerina and her partner perform steps requiring lyricism and great skill in lifting, balancing, and turning. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Italian : ad-, at (from Latin; see ad–) + agio, ease (from Old Provençal aize; akin to Old French aise; see ease).
| | |
| |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
|
|
