Definition of piano
:at a soft volume :soft
—used as a direction in music
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From the M-W Editors
Origin and Etymology of piano
Definition of piano
plural pianos
:a musical instrument having steel wire strings that sound when struck by felt-covered hammers operated from a keyboard
Examples of piano in a Sentence
Do you play the piano?
He takes piano lessons on Wednesdays.
Recent Examples of piano from the Web
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So political events had drawn the master satirist back to the piano!
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The cycle started off Tuesday evening at UC San Diego’s Conrad Prebys Concert Hall with impeccable and thoroughly engaging performances by Lin on violin and Jon Kimura Parker on piano.
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This year, Mr. Olafsson released an album of Mr. Glass’s piano works on Deutsche Grammophon.
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Our songs aren’t accompanied by tracks, just occasional piano.
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Photography: YellowHammer Photography, Oneonta Videography: B-RAD Productions, Tuscaloosa Catering: Valor Catering and Bakery Music: A high school classmate, Randa Dennis, played the piano.
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Her mother played piano on stage and now teaches music.
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Poker tables, furniture, grand pianos, art, and Austrian crystal chandeliers.
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Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz gave him his own baby piano.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'piano.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of piano
Italian, short for pianoforte, from gravicembalo col piano e forte, literally, harpsichord with soft and loud; from the fact that its tones could be varied in loudness
Piano
play
biographical name
Pi·a·no
\
pē-ˈä-(ˌ)nō
\
Definition of Piano
Renzo 1937– Italian architect
PIANO Defined for English Language Learners
piano
play
noun
Definition of piano for English Language Learners
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: a large musical instrument with a keyboard that you play by pressing black and white keys and that produces sound when small hammers inside the piano hit steel wires
PIANO Defined for Kids
piano
play
noun
pi·a·no
\
pē-ˈa-nō
\
Definition of piano for Students
plural pianos
:a keyboard instrument having steel wire strings that make a sound when struck by hammers covered with felt
History for piano
When a harpsichord is played, pressing on the keys causes the strings to be plucked in such a way that loudness and softness cannot be controlled. Around 1700 an Italian instrument maker named Bartolomeo Cristofori invented a mechanism by which the strings of a harpsichord would be struck by felt-covered hammers. This device allowed the performer to play notes with varying degrees of loudness. In Italian this new instrument was called gravicembalo col piano e forte, “harpsichord with soft and loud.” The name was borrowed into English as pianoforte or fortepiano, which was eventually shortened to just piano.
Learn More about piano
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See words that rhyme with piano Spanish Central: Translation of piano Nglish: Translation of piano for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of piano for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about piano
Seen and Heard
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