Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adv. Music In a very fast tempo, usually considered to be faster than allegro but slower than prestissimo. Used chiefly as a direction.
- adv. So suddenly that magic seems involved; right away.
- n. Music A passage or movement that is performed presto.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Quickly; immediately; in haste.
- In music, quick; in rapid tempo.
- n. In music, a passage in quick tempo.
Wiktionary
- adv. music Very fast or quickly; a directive for the musician(s) to play in a very quick tempo.
- interj. Used by magicians when performing a trick; ta-da; voilà.
- n. poker slang A pair of fives as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em
GNU Webster's 1913
- adv. Quickly; immediately; in haste; suddenly.
- adv. (Mus.) Quickly; rapidly; -- a direction for a quick, lively movement or performance; quicker than allegro, or any rate of time except prestissimo.
WordNet 3.0
- adv. at a very fast tempo (faster than allegro)
- adj. (of tempo) very fast
- adv. suddenly.
Etymologies
- From Italian presto ("quickly"). (Wiktionary)
- Italian, from Late Latin praestus, quick, from Latin praestō, at hand. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“presto' is Italian and presumably others of the 'wordish' words listed above are valid words”
“Or, sometimes, as reported to me by several field missionaries, they report on some excellent Bible study groups they have started, and "presto" - several new churches are born and wind up being reported by their supervisors on the Annual Statistical Report.”
“Obama can just clap his hands and "presto" -- election lost.”
“Typically, GM was able to pressure the cable monopolist Comcast into pulling the ad off the air and "presto" -- public debate is over.”
“This job title presto changeo is just like the presto changeo of MK77, really bad if Saddam uses it, not so much if the US uses it the same way.”
Think Progress » Woodward Reveals Important Clues About White House Smear Campaign
“But we discovered the internet printing service called presto dotcom.”
“Gee, let's see he was a senior corporate official of the company promoting a shuttle booster solution for the CLV and "presto"!”
“Just head up to the bar, look cute and "presto" here's $25,000 to get your academic funk on.”
The Huffington Post: Mark Britton: Student Loans: Avoid the Hangover
“Getting clear, at length, of this crowd of feminines, "presto" was the word, and away we bowled along one of the most beautiful roads I have ever seen.”
“After hammering out a few discords of her own she started recklessly into the incomprehensible "presto," thundering away at every crescendo as if to break her fingers.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘presto’.
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one word exclamations
keep it rated G please, thanks!
( open list, randomness )zoiks, sheesh, gosh, shucks, jeez, woot, heck, thunderation, oops, gadzooks, what, hey and 90 more...
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Russian Doll Words
A Russian Doll word is a word that, when you remove the first and last letters, is either the empty string, or a Russian Doll word. These are all of the 6 or more letter Russian Doll words found in...
waspiness, upraisers, strainers, sporangia, raspiness, prelatess, methanals, gaspiness, washings, uprisers, upraises, upraiser and 2373 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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A Matter Of Time
Favorite time-related words.
vespertine, twilight, gloaming, eftsoon, eventide, dawn, eos, dusk, witching hour, ephemeral, candlemark, autumnal and 122 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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What, another list?
ravishing, ravenous, pronk, brinksmanship, jaspe, mottle, chasm, testy, temperament, ponder, personally, phantom and 206 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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Magical moments
abracadabra, presto, open sesame, alakazam, incantation, spell, charm, chant, hocus pocus, legerdemain, occult, mystification and 24 more...
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Tempo Indications
larghissimo, largo, larghetto, adagissimo, adagio, adagietto, lentissimo, lento, andante, andantino, moderato, allegretto and 27 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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Words To Love
bewitched, extrapolate, peripherals, trifling, agile, thrill, smitten, precarious, ill-conceived, pie hole, presto, frisky and 17 more...
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Musical Theory and Notation
Words you might find in written music
forte, piano, fortissimo, pianissimo, moderato, pizzicato, staccato, glissando, ritardando, legato, accelerando, allegro and 40 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for presto.
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