allegretto

American  

[al-i-gret-oh, ahl-le-gret-taw] / ˌæl ɪˈgrɛt oʊ, ˌɑl lɛˈgrɛt tɔ /

adjective

1. light, graceful, and moderately fast in tempo.

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noun

plural

allegrettos

1. an allegretto movement.

allegretto British  

/ ˌælɪˈɡrɛtəʊ /

adjective

1. (to be performed) fairly quickly or briskly

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noun

1. a piece or passage to be performed in this manner

Etymology

Origin of allegretto

1730–40; < Italian, equivalent to allegr ( o ) allegro + -etto -et

Example Sentences

It’s in the allegretto third movement that No. 8’s Russian colors begin to show.

From Washington Post • Dec. 10, 2022

Even Elham, her W’s no longer sounding like V’s, and her tempo improved from largo to allegretto, is eventually able to pose a challenge to Omid’s fluency.

From New York Times • Feb. 22, 2022

A spiritual, harmonically inventive composition, it climaxes with an allegretto apparently modelled after the African-American "juba" dance once practised on US plantations.

From BBC • Sep. 10, 2021

"Come, begin!" and she rattled off at a 6-8 allegretto, the music which was intended to be played in three-quarter andante.

From The Music Master Novelized from the Play by Klein, Charles

At a performance of this Symphony, in the latter years of Beethoven, the composer remarked, with displeasure, that the allegretto movement was given much too fast, by which its character was entirely destroyed.

From Life of Beethoven by Schindler, Anton