piano

¹

[ pee-an-oh, pyan-oh ]

noun

, plural pi·an·os.

1. a musical instrument in which felt-covered hammers, operated from a keyboard, strike the metal strings.

piano

²

[ pee-ah-noh; Italian pyah-naw ]

adjective

1. soft; subdued.

adverb

1. softly. : p, p.

Piano

¹

/ pjˈɑno /

noun

1. PianoRenzo1937MItalianARCHITECTURE: architect Renzo. born 1937, Italian architect; buildings include the Pompidou Centre, Paris (1977; with Richard Rogers), the Potsdamer Platz redevelopment, Berlin (1998), and The Shard, London (2012)

piano

²

/ ˈpjɑːnəʊ /

adjective

1. music (to be performed) softly p

piano

³

/ pɪˈænəʊ /

noun

1. a musical stringed instrument resembling a harp set in a vertical or horizontal frame, played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike the strings and produce audible vibrations See also grand piano upright piano

piano

1. A musical direction meaning “to be performed softly”; the opposite of forte . As the name of a musical instrument, it is short for pianoforte .

Word History and Origins

Origin of piano¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; short for pianoforte

Origin of piano²

1675–85; < Italian: soft, low (of sounds), plain, flat < Latin plānus plain ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of piano¹

C17: from Italian, from Latin plānus flat; see plain ¹

Origin of piano²

C19: short for pianoforte

Example Sentences

When cords snapped and the piano fell, those same keys could still be played, but they were now out of tune.

From Washington Post

Rogers gave piano lessons to beginners as well as to more experienced musicians.

From Washington Post

He described himself as “making revolution all over the place, falling in and out of love all the time, drinking and playing bridge” until he settled into serious study of the piano.

From Washington Post

In October, New Yorker food writer Helen Rosner tweeted about a McDonald’s commercial that’s been lodged in her brain since childhood, this one featuring a girl at a music recital who’s thinking about McDonald’s instead of the piano.

From Eater

They’re also saving $1,500 a month on child care and several hundred dollars a month on piano lessons and taekwondo classes for their older children.

From Washington Post

I sat down at the living room piano and started playing this.

From The Daily Beast

On piano was legendary session man Billy Preston, who co-wrote and recorded the original version one year before Cocker's.

From The Daily Beast

Seth, Joe, and [Anthony] Mackie reenacting the scene from BIG on the floor piano at FAO Schwartz with KANYE WEST.

From The Daily Beast

A department store piano melody plays in the background while he admires everything he can see.

From The Daily Beast

When you left the piano for the Fender Rhodes and various synthesizers and came back to it, did it affect the way you play piano?

From The Daily Beast

He really seems to care almost nothing for his piano-playing or for his piano compositions.

From Project Gutenberg

A splendid grand piano stands in one window (he receives a new one every year).

From Project Gutenberg

At an early hour in the evening the Farival twins were prevailed upon to play the piano.

From Project Gutenberg

The very first chords which Mademoiselle Reisz struck upon the piano sent a keen tremor down Mrs. Pontellier's spinal column.

From Project Gutenberg

She sat perfectly still before the piano, not touching the keys, while Robert carried her message to Edna at the window.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• grand piano
• instrument
• keyboard