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etude

 - 7 dictionary results

é⋅tude

[ey-tood, ey-tyood, ey-tood, ey-tyood; Fr. ey-tyd]
–noun, plural é⋅tudes [ey-toodz, ey-tyoodz, ey-toodz, ey-tyoodz; Fr. ey-tyd] .
1. a musical composition, usually instrumental, intended mainly for the practice of some point of technique.
2. study 1 (def. 12).

Origin:
1830–40; < F; see study1

stud⋅y

[stuhd-ee] noun, plural stud⋅ies, verb, stud⋅ied, stud⋅y⋅ing.
–noun
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.
a. a literary composition executed for exercise or as an experiment in a particular method of treatment.
b. such a composition dealing in detail with a particular subject, as a single main character.
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.
–verb (used without object)
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.
–verb (used with object)
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.

Origin:
1250–1300; (n.) ME studie < OF estudie < L studium, equiv. to stud(ēre) to be busy with, devote oneself to, concentrate on + -ium -ium; (v.) ME studien < OF estudier < ML studiāre, deriv. of studium


stud⋅i⋅a⋅ble, adjective
stud⋅i⋅er, noun


1. inquiry, research, reading, thought, consideration. 7. subject, field, area. 11. library, den. 21. Study, consider, reflect, weigh imply fixing the mind upon something, generally doing so with a view to some decision or action. Study implies an attempt to obtain a grasp of something by methodical or exhaustive thought: to study a problem. To consider is to fix the thought upon something and give it close attention before making a decision concerning it, or beginning an action connected with it: to consider ways and means. Reflect implies looking back quietly over past experience and giving it consideration: to reflect on similar cases in the past. Weigh implies a deliberate and judicial estimate, as by a balance: to weigh a decision.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To etude
e·tude   (ā'tōōd', -tyōōd')   
n.   Music
  1. A piece composed for the development of a specific point of technique.

  2. A composition featuring a point of technique but performed because of its artistic merit.


[French étude, from Old French estudie, study; see study.]
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

study  (v.)
c.1125, from O.Fr. estudier "to study" (Fr. étude), from M.L. studiare, from L. studium "study, application," originally "eagerness," from studere "to be diligent" ("to be pressing forward"), from PIE *(s)teu- "to push, stick, knock, beat" (see steep (adj.)). The noun meaning "application of the mind to the acquisition of knowledge" is recorded from c.1300. Sense of "room furnished with books" is from 1303. Study hall is attested from 1891, originally a large common room in a college. Studious is attested from c.1382.

etude 
1837, from Fr. étude, lit. "study," from O.Fr. estudie, from L. studium (see study). Popularized in Eng. by the etudes of Chopin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

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.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

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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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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