Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A low female singing voice; a contralto.
- n. A countertenor.
- n. The range between soprano and tenor.
- n. A singer whose voice lies within this range.
- n. An instrument that sounds within this range.
- n. A vocal or instrumental part written in this range.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Literally, high: an element in terms relating to music and art: as, alto-ripieno, alto-rilievo.
- n. In music: Same as contralto.
- n. The instrument called in England the tenor violin, and by the Italians the viola.
- See all, adv., 1.
Wiktionary
- n. A musical part or section higher than tenor and lower than soprano, formerly the part that performed a countermelody above the tenor or main melody.
- n. this sense) A person or instrument that performs the alto part
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Mus.) Formerly the part sung by the highest male, or counter-tenor, voices; now the part sung by the lowest female, or contralto, voices, between in tenor and soprano. In
instrumental music it now signifies the tenor. - n. An alto singer.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the highest adult male singing voice
- n. the pitch range of the lowest female voice
- adj. (of a musical instrument) second highest member of a group
- adj. of or being the lowest female voice
- n. a singer whose voice lies in the alto clef
- n. (of a musical instrument) the second highest instrument in a family of musical instruments
- adj. of or being the highest male voice; having a range above that of tenor
- n. the lowest female singing voice
Etymologies
- From Italian alto ("high") (Wiktionary)
- Italian, from Latin altus, high; see al-2 in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Note 271: Nello spiraglio dello sportello si intravede in alto una piccola tavola squadrata.”
Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro
“An alto is supposed to sound a certain way - darker, fatter, richer, perhaps more matronly, than a soprano.”
“Aside from this blogger's discenrning ear and dry wit, I happen to know that she is a kickin 'alto, herself.”
“On the bright side, I have the piano that my parents bought for this purpose and one day I’m going to learn how to play it properly (if only the music came in alto clef, I’d be set)!”
“For all I know Ayers has relief sculptures of their likenesses in alto-rilievo style over the portal of his seminar room, and I don’t doubt for a minute that he’s a terrific classroom teacher).”
“The fourth class, called alto-stratus, is a thick sheet of gray or bluish color, sometimes thin enough to let the sun shine through.”
“The mere fact of having high tones does not necessarily make one a soprano, neither is a voice always to be classified as alto by reason of not being able to sing high.”
The Head Voice and Other Problems Practical Talks on Singing
“It was new to me not to hear the higher voice rise above the compass of the alto, that is to say, without touching the soprano, thereby imparting to the sound of the chorus a manly youthfulness hitherto unknown to me.”
“The terms alto and contralto are sometimes used interchangeably but it's not that simple.”
“The 11 musicians who joined Mr. P é rez for his most recent album, " Providencia " Mack Avenue, include his trio mates as well as newer associates, such as alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘alto’.
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Visuals
A list of words which yield surprising, beautiful, amusing, or otherwise noteworthy images here on Wordnik.
photochrom, fufluns, thank you, cool l..., postcard, picture postcard, cricket, physiological ill..., Gakuryū Ishii, ametropia, One Froggy Evening, rhodopsin, Santiago Calatrava and 636 more...
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7thGradeWords
horde, doggedly, retina, frail, jovial, insidious, injudicious, brazen, tentative, hortle, adaver, benign and 91 more...
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MUSIC - ALL TERMS
With focus on non-classical styles, but not excluding terms of the latter.
banjo, accompaniment, acoustic bass, bass guitar, bass clef, ground, brass, cornet, Mute, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, arrangement and 866 more...
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5000 FREE SAT Words
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 229 more...
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No Hablo Español
Despite seven years of classes and being half-Puerto Rican.
uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez, once, doce and 198 more...
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Musical words
nocturne, flat, sharp, waltz, etude, opera, soprano, alto, tenor, bass, cello, flute and 131 more...
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Beautiful Music
a cappella, accelerando, accompagnato, adagio, ad libitum, agitato, aleatory, alla breve, allegro, allemande, alto, andante and 548 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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Permutations
There are 17576 different sequences of three letters (26 x 26 x 26). How many of them occur in words? General rules of engagement: mononyms only, lower case preferred to upper case, short preferred...
aaargh, niqaabi, Isaac, raad, baaed, haaf, laager, aah, kamaaina, Naajaat, aak, aalii and 637 more...
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clef
caprice, variation, violin, harpsichord, adagio, allegro, scherzo, opera, tenor, soprano, alto, mezzo and 62 more...
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A Night at the Opera
Opera terminology.
sitzprobe, claque, maestro, impresario, divo, diva, spinto, bel canto, falsetto, parlando, pants role, trouser role and 50 more...
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Musical Terms
Various terms, common and uncommon, relating to musical scores.
largo, andante, adagio, lento, moderato, allegro, vivace, presto, fermata, appoggiatura, acciaccatura, trill and 56 more...
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Speak Low, Darling, Speak Low
Words about voices
orotund, mellifluous, euphonious, dulcet, lilting, sonorous, vibrato, tremolo, falsetto, alto, soprano, baritone and 9 more...
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Deuces Wild
Can you spot the twoishness?
juxtapositioned, bifurcation, chiaroscuro, oscillation, beta, reciprocity, polarity, doppelgänger, twofer, Chalcedonian, diploid, twofold and 29 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for alto.
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