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Toccata

 - 4 dictionary results

toc⋅ca⋅ta

  [tuh-kah-tuh; It. tawk-kah-tah]
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–noun, plural -tas, -te  [-tee; It. -te] . Music.
a composition in the style of an improvisation, for the piano, organ, or other keyboard instrument, intended to exhibit the player's technique.
Origin:
1715–25; < It: lit., touched, ptp. fem. of toccare to touch
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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toc·ca·ta   (tə-kä'tə)   
n.  A virtuoso composition, usually for the organ or another keyboard instrument, in free style with brilliant passagework.

[Italian, from feminine past participle of toccare, to touch, from Vulgar Latin *toccāre.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

toccata 
1724, from It., from toccare "to touch." A composition for keyboard instrument, intended to exhibit the touch and technique of the performer, and having the air of an improvisation.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

toccata

musical form for keyboard instruments, written in a free style that is characterized by full chords, rapid runs, high harmonies, and other virtuoso elements designed to show off the performer's "touch." The earliest use of the term (about 1536) was associated with solo lute music of an improvisatory character

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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