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
Caché McClay, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2026
Singers may perform with live piano accompaniment or a cappella.
—Ramona Sentinel, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026
British a cappella group Voces8 performed in Winter Park as part of the 91st annual Bach Festival.
—Matthew J. Palm, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Feb. 2026
True to its something-for-everyone philosophy, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s next season jumps from workplace drama to gothic horror, a cappella musical and classic Americana — all while expanding into a new performance space.
—Theater Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Feb. 2026
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 5 Apr. 2026.
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a cappella
adverb or adjectivefrom Italian a cappella "in chapel style"
