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
Pamela Avila, USA Today, 26 Apr. 2025
The band members actually drop their instruments and then gather around a microphone to deliver incredible four-part a cappella vocal harmonies on barbershop quartet-style numbers.
—Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2025
In the musical comedy franchise about fictional Barden University’s all-female a cappella club, Kendrick played Beca, alongside Wilson's Fat Amy and Fit's character Flo.
—Jen Juneau, People.com, 16 Apr. 2025
Presented with exceptions to these patterns—what about a cappella jazz ensembles?
—Matthew Aucoin, The Atlantic, 15 Apr. 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 6 May. 2025.
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a cappella
adverb or adjectivefrom Italian a cappella "in chapel style"
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