pianoforte

[ pee-an-uh-fawrt, -fohrt; pee-an-uh-fawr-tee, -tey, -fohr- ]
/ piˈæn əˌfɔrt, -ˌfoʊrt; piˌæn əˈfɔr ti, -teɪ, -ˈfoʊr- /

noun

a piano.

Origin of pianoforte

1760–70; < Italian ( gravecembalo col) piano e forte literally, (harpsicord with) soft and loud, equivalent to piano soft (see piano2) + forte loud (see forte2)

Example sentences from the Web for pianoforte

British Dictionary definitions for pianoforte

pianoforte
/ (pɪˈænəʊˈfɔːtɪ) /

noun

the full name for piano 1

Word Origin for pianoforte

C18: from Italian, originally ( gravecembalo col) piano e forte (harpsichord with) soft and loud; see piano ², forte ²

Cultural definitions for pianoforte

pianoforte
[ (pee-an-uh-fawrt, pee-an-uh-fawr-tay) ]

The full name of the piano, the common musical instrument with a board of black and white keys, eighty-eight in all. The keys operate hammers that strike wires. Pianoforte is Italian for “soft-loud”; it received this name because its level of loudness depends on how hard the player strikes the keys.