staccato

Meanings

Noun

• An articulation marking directing that a note or passage of notes are to be played in an abruptly disconnected manner, with each note sounding for a very short duration, and a short break lasting until the sounding of the next note; as opposed to legato. Staccato is indicated by a dot directly above or below the notehead.
• A passage having this mark.
• Any sound resembling a musical staccato.

Adverb

• played in this style

Adjective

• Describing a passage having this mark.
• Made up of abruptly disconnected parts or sounds.

Related

Opposite words

• legato

Origin

• Borrowed from Italian staccato ("detached, disconnected"), past participle of staccare, aphetic variant of distaccare, from Middle French destacher ("to detach"), from Old French destachier ("to detach"), from des- + atachier, alteration of estachier, from estache, from Low Frankish *stakka ("stake"), from Proto-Germanic *stakkaz, *stakkēn, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- ("stick, stake"). Akin to Old High German stecko ("post") (German Stecken ("stick")), Old Saxon stekko ("stake"), Old Norse stakkr ("hay stack, heap"), Old English staca ("stake"). More at stake.