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finale

 - 4 dictionary results

fi⋅na⋅le

[fi-nal-ee, -nah-lee]
–noun
1. the last piece, division, or movement of a concert, opera, or composition.
2. the concluding part of any performance, course of proceedings, etc.; end.

Origin:
1715–25; < It, n. use of finale (adj.) < L fīnālis final
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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fi·nal·e   (fə-nāl'ē, -nä'lē)   
n.  The concluding part, especially of a musical composition.

[Italian, from Latin fīnālis, final; see final.]
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

finale 
1783, borrowed as a musical term from It. finale "final," from L. finalis "final," from finis "end."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

finale

in music, the last and, as a rule, lively movement of a multimovement instrumental work, or the culminating section of an operatic act or scene, usually involving a vocal ensemble rather than a single singer. During the musical era dominated by Viennese Classicism (c. 1770-1820), solo concerti tended to end with movements in rondo form, while the finales of symphonic and chamber works, eventually solo sonatas as well, increasingly complied with the sonata-allegro principle. Beginning with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's last two symphonies (Nos. 40 and 41, 1788) and reaching its highest expression in numerous works of Ludwig van Beethoven, the finale attained a structural significance that had previously been reserved for the opening movement, to the extent that, instead of providing merely an agreeable conclusion, it contained the ultimate thematic resolution of a large-scale instrumental drama

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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