alto
UK /ˈæl.təʊ/ · US /ˈæl.toʊ/ noun, proper noun
Forms altos alti
- noun A musical part or section higher than tenor and lower than soprano, formerly the part that performed a countermelody above the tenor or main melody.
- noun A person or musical instrument that performs the alto part.
- noun (colloquial, music) An alto saxophone.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun A census-designated place in Marin County, California, United States.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian alto (“high”). Doublet of old.
Borrowed from Spanish alto.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Formerly the part sung by the highest male, or counter-tenor, voices; now the part sung by the lowest female, or contralto, voices, between in tenor and soprano. In instrumental music it now signifies the tenor.
- noun An alto singer. Alto clef (Mus.) the counter-tenor clef, or the C clef, placed so that the two strokes include the middle line of the staff. Moore.
Etymology [It. alto high, fr. L. altus. Cf. Alt.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “alto”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details