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falsetto - 5 dictionary results

fal⋅set⋅to

  [fawl-set-oh] noun, plural -tos, adjective, adverb
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–noun
1. an unnaturally or artificially high-pitched voice or register, esp. in a man.
2. a person, esp. a man, who sings with such a voice.
–adjective
3. of, noting, or having the quality and compass of such a voice.
–adverb
4. in a falsetto.
Origin:
1765–75; < It, equiv. to fals(o) (< L falsus false ) + -etto -et
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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fal·set·to   (fôl-sět'ō)   
n.   pl. fal·set·tos
  1. A male voice in an upper register beyond its normal range.
  2. One who sings or talks in this register.

[Italian, diminutive of falso, false, from Latin falsus; see false.]
fal·set'to adv.
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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Falsetto

Fal*set"to\, n.; pl. Falsettos. [It. falsetto, dim. fr. L. falsus. See False.] A false or artificial voice; that voice in a man which lies above his natural voice; the male counter tenor or alto voice. See Head voice, under Voice.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : falsetto
Spanish: falsete,
German: das Falsett, die Fistelstimme,
Japanese: 裏声
More Translations »

falsetto 
1774, from It., dim. of falso "false."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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falsetto

the upper register of the human voice, the opposite of chest voice. Though sometimes considered synonymous with head voice, the Italian term falsetto means "false soprano" and therefore has been used traditionally to describe only the adult male's head voice, whereby the vocal cords vibrate in a length shorter than usual and somewhat apart with a permanent oval orifice between the edges. In choirs of men and boys, especially in England, there is a long uninterrupted tradition of adult male altos singing falsetto.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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