piano

¹

[pee-an-oh, pyan-oh]

noun

plural

pianos 

1. a musical instrument in which felt-covered hammers, operated from a keyboard, strike the metal strings.

piano

²

[pee-ah-noh, pyah-naw]

adjective

1. soft; subdued.

adverb

1. softly. p, p.

piano

¹

/ pɪˈænəʊ /

noun

1. a musical stringed instrument resembling a harp set in a vertical or horizontal frame, played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike the strings and produce audible vibrations See also grand piano upright piano

piano

²

/ ˈpjɑːnəʊ /

adjective

1. p. music (to be performed) softly

Piano

³

/ pjˈɑno /

noun

1. Renzo. born 1937, Italian architect; buildings include the Pompidou Centre, Paris (1977; with Richard Rogers), the Potsdamer Platz redevelopment, Berlin (1998), and The Shard, London (2012)

piano

1. A musical direction meaning “to be performed softly”; the opposite of forte. As the name of a musical instrument, it is short for pianoforte.

Word History and Origins

Origin of piano¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; short for pianoforte

Origin of piano²

1675–85; < Italian: soft, low (of sounds), plain, flat < Latin plānus plain ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of piano¹

C19: short for _pianoforte

Origin of piano²

C17: from Italian, from Latin plānus flat; see _plain ¹

Example Sentences

She learned to play the piano and violin, and - gifted with a beautiful voice - took singing lessons.

From BBC

Then there’s Sade’s “Young Lion,” a tolling piano ballad in which the famous soul singer asks her son to forgive her for not recognizing his gender identity earlier than she did.

From Los Angeles Times

This August afternoon, she is on a video call from her home in Las Vegas, where the barefaced star shares a room with, as she describes it, “my Liberace piano” and a full-size carousel horse.

From Los Angeles Times

There’s a guitar that sounds and swings like an electric piano, there are horns when you’re not expecting them — it is a thoroughly Memphis arrangement that holds its own.

From Salon

That same year, she wore a similar ball gown in a TikTok featuring a piano rendition of her ballad Champagne Problems.

From BBC

Related Words

• grand piano 
• instrument 
• keyboard