a cappella
adverb or adjective
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A Cappella Has Italian Roots
A cappella arrived in English in the 18th century via the Italian phrase a cappella, meaning "in chapel or choir style." (Medieval Latin capella, meaning "chapel," is the source of English chapel.) The a cappella style reached preeminence in the late 16th century in the music that composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina wrote for the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican. Because no independent instrumental parts were written down, scholars once thought that the choir sang unaccompanied, but current evidence makes clear that an organ or other instruments doubled some or several of the vocal parts. Regardless, today a cappella describes a purely vocal performance.
Examples of a cappella in a Sentence
Marcus Smith, Sacbee.com, 11 Nov. 2025
The Masters of Harmony chorus is one of the premier men’s a cappella groups in America.
—News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Nov. 2025
Almost every track on the album started with a Big L a cappella placed over drums.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
In college, Cannon convinced his a cappella group to screen print on the company's blank shirts.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for a cappella
Cite this Entry
“A cappella.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/a%20cappella. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
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a cappella
adverb or adjectivefrom Italian a cappella "in chapel style"
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