[pee-an-uh-fawrt, -fohrt; pee-an-uh-fawr-tee, -tey, -fohr-] 
| a piano. |
| pi·an·o·for·te (pē-ān'ō-fôr'tā, -fôr'tē, pē-ān'ō-fôrt') n. A piano. [Italian, from (gravecembalo col) piano (e) forte, (harpsichord with) soft (and) loud : piano, soft; see piano2 + forte, loud; see forte2.] |
The full name of the piano, the common musical instrument with a board of black and white keys, eighty-eight in all. The keys operate hammers that strike wires. Pianoforte is Italian for “soft-loud”; it received this name because its level of loudness depends on how hard the player strikes the keys.
əˌfɔrt