piano

4 definitions found

piano - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Piano \Pi*a"no\, a. & adv. [It., even, smooth, soft, fr. L.
     planus even, level.] (Mus.)
     Soft; -- a direction to the performer to execute a certain
     passage softly, and with diminished volume of tone. (Abbrev.
     p.)
     [1913 Webster] Pianoforte

  Piano \Pi*an"o\, Pianoforte \Pi*an"o*for`te\, n. [It. piano soft
     (fr. L. planus even, smooth; see Plain, a.) + It. forte
     strong, fr. L. fortis (see Fort).] (Mus.)
     A well-known musical instrument somewhat resembling the
     harpsichord, and consisting of a series of wires of graduated
     length, thickness, and tension, struck by hammers moved by
     keys.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Dumb piano. See Digitorium.
  
     Grand piano. See under Grand.
  
     Square piano, one with a horizontal frame and an oblong
        case.
  
     Upright piano, one with an upright frame and vertical
        wires.
        [1913 Webster]

piano - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  piano
      adv 1: used as a direction in music; to be played relatively
             softly [syn: piano, softly] [ant: forte, loudly]
      adj 1: used chiefly as a direction or description in music; "the
             piano passages in the composition" [syn: piano, soft]
             [ant: forte, loud]
      n 1: a keyboard instrument that is played by depressing keys
           that cause hammers to strike tuned strings and produce
           sounds [syn: piano, pianoforte, forte-piano]
      2: (music) low loudness [syn: piano, pianissimo]

piano - Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :

  124 Moby Thesaurus words for "piano":
     Klavier, Steinway, a cappella, a la sourdine, abbandono,
     accrescendo, adagietto, adagio, affettuoso, agilmente, agitato,
     allegretto, allegro, amabile, amoroso, andante, andantino,
     appassionatamente, appassionato, baby grand, barely audible,
     brillante, capriccioso, cembalo, clarichord, clavicembalo,
     clavichord, clavicittern, clavicymbal, clavicytherium, clavier,
     con affetto, con agilita, con agitazione, con amore, concert grand,
     cottage piano, couched harp, crescendo, decrescendo, dim,
     diminuendo, dimly, distant, dolce, dulcimer harpsichord, faint,
     faint-voiced, faintly, feeble, feebly, forte, fortissimo, gentle,
     gently, grand, grand piano, half-heard, hammer dulcimer,
     harmonichord, harpsichord, hushedly, indistinct, lamentabile,
     larghetto, larghissimo, largo, legato, leggiero, low, manichord,
     manichordon, marcando, melodion, melopiano, monochord, morendo,
     murmured, pair of virginals, parlando, parlor grand, pianette,
     pianino, pianissimo, piano-violin, pianoforte, pizzicato,
     prestissimo, presto, rallentando, ritardando, ritenuto,
     scarcely heard, scherzando, scherzo, scherzoso, soft,
     soft-sounding, soft-voiced, softly, sordamente, sordo,
     sostinente pianoforte, sotto voce, spiccato, spinet, square piano,
     staccato, stretto, subaudible, subdued, subduedly, tremolando,
     tremoloso, trillando, unclear, upright, upright piano,
     violin piano, virginal, weak, weak-voiced, weakly, whispered