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alto

[al-toh] Origin

al·to

[al-toh] noun, plural al·tos, adjective Music.
noun
1.
the lowest female voice; contralto.
2.
the highest male voice; countertenor.
3.
a singer with such a voice.
4.
a musical part for such a voice.
5.
the second highest of the four parts of a mixed vocal chorus, or the voices or persons singing this part.
EXPAND
6.
the second highest instrument in a family of musical instruments, as the viola in the violin family or the althorn in the cornet family.
COLLAPSE
adjective
7.
of, pertaining to, or having the tonal range of the alto.
8.
(of a musical instrument) second highest in a family of musical instruments: alto saxophone.

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Alto is always a great word to know.
So is cadence. Does it mean:
sequence of notes or chords indicating completion of a composition, section, phrase
tone on the third degree from a given tone counted as the first

Origin:
1775–85; < Italian < Latin altus high
Dictionary.com Unabridged

alto-

variant of alti-: altostratus.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
alto (ˈæltəʊ)
 
n , pl -tos
1.  the highest adult male voice; countertenor
2.  (in choral singing) a shortened form of contralto
3.  a singer with such a voice
4.  another name for viola
5.  a flute, saxophone, etc, that is the third or fourth highest instrument in its group
 
adj
6.  denoting a flute, saxophone, etc, that is the third or fourth highest instrument in its group
 
[C18: from Italian: high, from Latin altus]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

alto
1784, "man with an alto voice," from It., from L. altus "high" (see old). Now more commonly applied to the lower range of women's voices (which is more strictly the contralto), an extension first recorded in 1881.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

alto definition


The lowest range of the female singing voice, also called contralto. (Compare mezzo soprano and soprano.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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