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crescendo

Pronunciation: /kɹɪˈʃɛn.dəʊ/

The English word “crescendo” has 5 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. An instruction to play gradually more loudly, denoted by a long, narrow angle with its apex on the left ( < ), by musicians called a hairpin.
  2. A gradual increase of anything, especially to a dramatic climax.
  3. The climax of a gradual increase.

verb

  1. To increase in intensity; to reach or head for a crescendo.

adverb

  1. Gradually increasing in force or loudness.

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian crescendo, gerund of crescere (“to grow, to increase”).

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.