staccato

[ stuh-kah-toh ]

adjective

1. shortened and detached when played or sung:

   staccato notes.

2. characterized by performance in which the notes are abruptly disconnected: Compare legato.

   a staccato style of playing.

3. composed of or characterized by abruptly disconnected elements; disjointed:

   rapid-fire, staccato speech.

adverb

1. in a staccato manner.

noun

, plural stac·ca·tos, stac·ca·ti [st, uh, -, kah, -tee].

1. performance in a staccato manner.
2. a staccato passage.

staccato

/ stəˈkɑːtəʊ /

adjective

1. music (of notes) short, clipped, and separate
2. characterized by short abrupt sounds, as in speech

   a staccato command

adverb

1. (esp used as a musical direction) in a staccato manner

staccato

1. A direction in music meaning that the notes should be performed in an abrupt, sharp, clear-cut manner.

Notes

The term staccato has been applied generally to things that occur in rapid bursts, such as gunfire.

Word History and Origins

Origin of staccato¹

1715–25; < Italian: disconnected, past participle of staccare (derivative of stacca pole < Gothic, but taken as a variant of distaccare to detach )

Word History and Origins

Origin of staccato¹

C18: from Italian, from staccare to detach, shortened from distaccare

Example Sentences

I get "why fix it if it isn't broken" and clearly that rapid, staccato, uber-fast speed has done wonders for your traction and your followers.

From Salon

They were smaller than the smallest peas, but hard enough to make staccato tap-tap-taps as they struck my windshield and melted into tiny droplets of water.

From Los Angeles Times

Then her device’s flat staccato sounds out the raunchy rhymes of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back.”

From New York Times

Duane Eddy, who broke new ground in pop music in the 1950s with a reverberant, staccato style of guitar playing that became known as twang, died on Tuesday in Franklin, Tenn. He was 86.

From New York Times

“But because of that it’s a more expressive instrument than any other. Do you slide into it, do you play staccato? It’s really what you do in between the notes too.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• litany
• recurrence
• reiteration
• repeat
• rhythm