appoggiatura

American  

[uh-poj-uh-toor-uh, -tyoor-uh, ahp-pawd-jah-too-rah] / əˌpɒdʒ əˈtʊər ə, -ˈtyʊər ə, ɑpˌpɔd dʒɑˈtu rɑ /

noun

Music.

1. a note of embellishment preceding another note and taking a portion of its time.

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appoggiatura British  

/ əˌpɒdʒəˈtʊərə /

noun

1. music an ornament consisting of a nonharmonic note (short or long) preceding a harmonic one either before or on the stress See also acciaccatura

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Etymology

Origin of appoggiatura

First recorded in 1745–55; from Italian: literally, “a propping up,” equivalent to appoggiat(o), past participle of appoggiare “to support” + -ura abstract noun suffix; ap- ¹, podium, -ate ¹, -ure

Example Sentences

He tended to gloss over big moments with infuriatingly brisk tempos, and the crunching appoggiatura on the work’s final chord, one of the most eloquent dissonances in all of music history, simply failed to register.

From New York Times • Jun. 22, 2018

But the definition of the appoggiatura isn’t the only thing that is currently being debated.

From Scientific American • Mar. 1, 2012

The WSJ article describes an appoggiatura as “a type of ornamental note that clashes with the melody just enough to create a dissonant sound.”

From Scientific American • Mar. 1, 2012

Leonard Bernstein has captured the sound of its blue notes�the appoggiatura tones that mimic the human voice in lament�and others have used its reiterated play-song melodies.

From Time Magazine Archive

At any rate I believe the music I like best myself to be sparing of the appoggiatura, to keep pretty close to tonic and dominant and to have a well-marked beat, measure and rhythm.

From The Note-Books of Samuel Butler by Butler, Samuel