adagio

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. adv. Music In a slow tempo, usually considered to be slower than andante but faster than larghetto. Used chiefly as a direction.
2. n. Music A slow passage, movement, or work, especially one using adagio as the direction.
3. n. 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.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In music:
2. Slow; slowly, leisurely, and with grace. When repeated, adagio, adagio, it directs the performance to be very slow.
3. Slow: as, an adagio movement.
4. n. A slow movement; also, a piece of music or part of a composition characterized by slow movement.
5. Special varieties of movement or style are indicated by adding other terms, as: adagio assai or molto, very slow; adagio non troppo, slow, but not too much so; adagio cantabile or sostenuto, slow, with a flowing or sustained movement; adagio patetico, slow and with pathos; adagio pesante, slow, with heavy accents; adagio religioso, slow and in the church style; etc.

Wiktionary

1. n. music A tempo mark directing that a passage is to be played rather slowly, leisurely and gracefully.
2. n. music A passage having this mark.
3. n. dance A male-female duet or mixed trio ballet displaying demanding balance, spins and/or lifts.
4. adv. music Played rather slowly.
5. adj. music Describing a passage having this mark.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. (Mus.) Slow; slowly, leisurely, and gracefully. When repeated, adagio, adagio, it directs the movement to be very slow.
2. n. A piece of music in adagio time; a slow movement.

WordNet 3.0

1. adv. slowly.
2. adj. (of tempo) leisurely
3. n. (music) a composition played in adagio tempo (slowly and gracefully)
4. n. a slow section of a pas de deux requiring great skill and strength by the dancers