pianissimo

[ pee-uh-nis-uh-moh; Italian pyah-nees-see-maw ]

adjective

1. very soft.

adverb

1. very softly.

noun

, plural pi·a·nis·si·mos.

1. a passage or movement played in this way.

pianissimo

/ pɪəˈnɪsɪˌməʊ /

adjective

1. music (to be performed) very quietly pp

pianissimo

1. A musical direction meaning “to be performed very softly”; the opposite of fortissimo .

Word History and Origins

Origin of pianissimo¹

1715–25; < Italian, superlative of piano piano ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of pianissimo¹

C18: from Italian, superlative of piano soft

Example Sentences

Then in that first sort of chorus, where it’s quieter, more pianissimo, “I’m defying gravity. I think it’s time to defy gravity,” she’s not quite sure.

From Los Angeles Times

And Lim’s soft playing is particularly sensitive, as in the pleading quality he brings to a tiny pianissimo quintuplet in Op.

From New York Times

In “Senta’s Ballad,” she catapulted into high-lying phrases with strength and point and drew her voice into a slender thread for beautifully formed pianissimo high notes.

From New York Times

Schiff, as in his touch at a keyboard, relished the extremes of Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony — the opening truly pianissimo, the forzando notes truly explosive.

From New York Times

On Friday, however, her sound was often comparatively bright and extreme — the sfordanzos true explosions, the pianissimos exquisitely soft-spoken.

From New York Times