. | 1. | a musical composition, usually instrumental, intended mainly for the practice of some point of technique. |
| 2. | study 1 (def. 12). |

noun, plural stud⋅ies, verb, stud⋅ied, stud⋅y⋅ing.| 1. | application of the mind to the acquisition of knowledge, as by reading, investigation, or reflection: long hours of study. |
| 2. | the cultivation of a particular branch of learning, science, or art: the study of law. |
| 3. | Often, studies. a personal effort to gain knowledge: to pursue one's studies. |
| 4. | something studied or to be studied: Balzac's study was human nature. |
| 5. | research or a detailed examination and analysis of a subject, phenomenon, etc.: She made a study of the transistor market for her firm. |
| 6. | a written account of such research, examination, or analysis: He published a study of Milton's poetry. |
| 7. | a well-defined, organized branch of learning or knowledge. |
| 8. | zealous endeavor or assiduous effort. |
| 9. | the object of such endeavor or effort. |
| 10. | deep thought, reverie, or a state of abstraction: He was lost in study and did not hear us come in. |
| 11. | a room, in a house or other building, set apart for private study, reading, writing, or the like. |
| 12. | Also called étude. Music. a composition that combines exercise in technique with a greater or lesser amount of artistic value. |
| 13. | Literature.
|
| 14. | Art. something produced as an educational exercise, as a memorandum or record of observations or effects, or as a guide for a finished production: She made a quick pencil sketch of his hands as a study for the full portrait in oils. |
| 15. | a person, as an actor, considered in terms of his or her quickness or slowness in memorizing lines: a quick study. |
| 16. | to apply oneself to the acquisition of knowledge, as by reading, investigation, or practice. |
| 17. | to apply oneself; endeavor. |
| 18. | to think deeply, reflect, or consider. |
| 19. | to take a course of study, as at a college. |
| 20. | to apply oneself to acquiring a knowledge of (a subject). |
| 21. | to examine or investigate carefully and in detail: to study the political situation. |
| 22. | to observe attentively; scrutinize: to study a person's face. |
| 23. | to read carefully or intently: to study a book. |
| 24. | to endeavor to learn or memorize, as a part in a play. |
| 25. | to consider, as something to be achieved or devised. |
| 26. | to think out, as the result of careful consideration or devising. |

study stud·y (stŭd'ē)
n.
Research, detailed examination, or analysis of an organism, object, or phenomenon. v. stud·ied, stud·y·ing, stud·ies
To research, examine, or analyze something.
etude
in music, originally a study or technical exercise, later a complete and musically intelligible composition exploring a particular technical problem in an esthetically satisfying manner. Although a number of didactic pieces date from earlier times, including vocal solfeggi and keyboard works (Domenico Scarlatti's Esercizi per gravicembalo), the etude came into its own only in the late 18th and early 19th centuries with collections published by the virtuoso pianist Muzio Clementi (especially his Gradus ad Parnassum, 1817), emulated by other pianist-composers, especially Karl Czerny. With the 27 piano etudes by Frederic Chopin (Opus 10, 1833; Opus 25, 1837), the etude became a composition of considerable musical interest apart from its merit as a technical study. Many of the Transcendental Etudes by piano virtuoso Franz Liszt feature descriptive titles (e.g., La campanella, or "The Little Bell"). Claude Debussy's Douze Etudes (1915; 12 Etudes) and Gyorgy Ligeti's Etudes for Piano (Book 1, 1985; Book 2, 1988-94) are notable later examples.
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