pizzicato

[ pit-si-kah-toh; Italian peet-tsee-kah-taw ]

adjective

1. played by plucking the strings with the finger instead of using the bow, as on a violin.

noun

, plural piz·zi·ca·ti [pit-si-, kah, -tee, peet-tsee-, kah, -tee].

1. a note or passage so played.

pizzicato

/ ˌpɪtsɪˈkɑːtəʊ /

adjective

1. (in music for the violin family) to be plucked with the finger

noun

1. the style or technique of playing a normally bowed stringed instrument in this manner

Word History and Origins

Origin of pizzicato¹

1835–45; < Italian, past participle of pizzicare to pluck, pick, twang (a stringed instrument)

Word History and Origins

Origin of pizzicato¹

C19: from Italian: pinched, from pizzicare to twist, twang

Example Sentences

“Pisachi” alternates between hushed, singing harmonics and piquant rhythms painted in impassioned tremolos and spiky pizzicatos.

From New York Times

At his signal, the strings went off on a pizzicato run, buoyed by harps and congas, before dissolving into a bass drum pulse beneath simmering horns.

From Los Angeles Times

Its dusty pizzicato tremolo had the predawn rustle of someone waking up and shuffling to the kitchen to prepare the morning’s brew before the household had awakened.

From New York Times

The rhythm hops from key clicks on a bass clarinet to pizzicato strings; it’s juxtaposed with sighing melody lines and hints of a circus band, making the most of its three-and-a-half minutes.

From New York Times

Perkinson’s music evoked centuries of Black American music, between lavish pizzicato sections which called to mind the connections between the American banjo and West African plucked string instruments and bluesy slides from note to note.

From New York Times