Piano

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Piano \Pi*a"no\, a. & adv. [It., even, smooth, soft, fr. L.
     planus even, level.] (Mus.)
     Soft; -- a direction to the performer to execute a certain
     passage softly, and with diminished volume of tone. (Abbrev.
     p.)
     [1913 Webster] Pianoforte



From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Piano \Pi*an"o\, Pianoforte \Pi*an"o*for`te\, n. [It. piano soft
     (fr. L. planus even, smooth; see {Plain}, a.) + It. forte
     strong, fr. L. fortis (see {Fort}).] (Mus.)
     A well-known musical instrument somewhat resembling the
     harpsichord, and consisting of a series of wires of graduated
     length, thickness, and tension, struck by hammers moved by
     keys.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {Dumb piano}. See {Digitorium}.
  
     {Grand piano}. See under {Grand}.
  
     {Square piano}, one with a horizontal frame and an oblong
        case.
  
     {Upright piano}, one with an upright frame and vertical
        wires.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  piano
       adj : used chiefly as a direction or description in music; "the
             piano passages in the composition" [syn: {soft}] [ant:
             {forte}]
       n 1: a stringed instrument that is played by depressing keys that
            cause hammers to strike tuned strings and produce sounds
            [syn: {pianoforte}, {forte-piano}]
       2: (music) low loudness [syn: {pianissimo}]
       adv : used as a direction in music; to be played relatively softly
             [syn: {softly}] [ant: {forte}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  124 Moby Thesaurus words for "piano":
     Klavier, Steinway, a cappella, a la sourdine, abbandono,
     accrescendo, adagietto, adagio, affettuoso, agilmente, agitato,
     allegretto, allegro, amabile, amoroso, andante, andantino,
     appassionatamente, appassionato, baby grand, barely audible,
     brillante, capriccioso, cembalo, clarichord, clavicembalo,
     clavichord, clavicittern, clavicymbal, clavicytherium, clavier,
     con affetto, con agilita, con agitazione, con amore, concert grand,
     cottage piano, couched harp, crescendo, decrescendo, dim,
     diminuendo, dimly, distant, dolce, dulcimer harpsichord, faint,
     faint-voiced, faintly, feeble, feebly, forte, fortissimo, gentle,
     gently, grand, grand piano, half-heard, hammer dulcimer,
     harmonichord, harpsichord, hushedly, indistinct, lamentabile,
     larghetto, larghissimo, largo, legato, leggiero, low, manichord,
     manichordon, marcando, melodion, melopiano, monochord, morendo,
     murmured, pair of virginals, parlando, parlor grand, pianette,
     pianino, pianissimo, piano-violin, pianoforte, pizzicato,
     prestissimo, presto, rallentando, ritardando, ritenuto,
     scarcely heard, scherzando, scherzo, scherzoso, soft,
     soft-sounding, soft-voiced, softly, sordamente, sordo,
     sostinente pianoforte, sotto voce, spiccato, spinet, square piano,
     staccato, stretto, subaudible, subdued, subduedly, tremolando,
     tremoloso, trillando, unclear, upright, upright piano,
     violin piano, virginal, weak, weak-voiced, weakly, whispered
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  PIANO, n.  A parlor utensil for subduing the impenitent visitor.  It
  is operated by pressing the keys of the machine and the spirits of the
  audience.