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piano

Pronunciation: /ˈpjænəʊ/

The English word “piano” has 8 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A percussive keyboard musical instrument, usually ranging over seven octaves, with white and black colored keys, played by pressing these keys, causing hammers to strike strings.

verb

  1. To play the piano.
  2. To move (the fingers) up and down on, similar to the motions of a pianist playing the piano.
  3. To equip with a piano.
  4. To become softer and less intense.

adverb

  1. Softly, as a dynamic in a piece of music.

adjective

  1. Soft, quiet.
  2. Gentle, soft, subdued.

Etymology

Clipping of pianoforte, from Italian pianoforte, from piano (“soft”) + forte (“strong”). So named because it could produce a wide range of varied volumes note-by-note, in contrast to older keyboard instruments, notably the harpsichord. Doublet of llano, plain, plane, and plan.

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