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AC
abbreviation of 'alternating current'
A.C.
abbreviation of 'author's correction'
a.C.
abbreviation of avanti Cristo (Italian: before Christ, BC)
a.c.
abbreviation of a capo (Italian: new line)
abbreviation of année courante (French: this year)
abbreviation of anno corrente (Latin: this year)
a/c
abbreviation of ao cuidado de (Portuguese: c/o, care of - as in a postal address)
aC
abbreviation of antes de Cristo (Portuguese: before Christ, BC), avanti Cristo (Italian: before Christ, BC)
ACA
abbreviation of 'American Composers Alliance'
acá
(Spanish) here, over here, until now, since then, this person here (Latin America)
acababa de meterme en la cama cuando ...
(Spanish) I had just got into bed when ...
acaba de llegar
(Spanish) he has just arrived
Acabado
(Spanish m.) finish
acabado (m.), acadaba (f.)
(Spanish) finished (completed, ended), perfect, worn-out (figurative), spent (worn-out), finished (person: career is spent, worn-out)
Acabado perfecto
(Spanish m.) perfect finish
Acabamiento
(Spanish m.) finishing, end
acabar
(Spanish) to finish (job, book), to complete (task), to end, to split up, to end up (state, situation)
acabar con
(Spanish) to finish with (person), to finish off (something), to ruin (something), to do away with (eliminate: something), to destroy (eliminate: something), to fritter away (inheritance), to put an end to (problem), to do away with (person)
acabar de
(Spanish) to have just
acabar de hacer
(Spanish) to finish doing (something)
acabar en
(Spanish) to end in (something)
acabarse
(Spanish) to run out (provisions, food), to be over (problem), to end (course, party, etc.), to finish (project), to come to an end (project), to finish (up)
acabarse de
(Spanish) to run out of (provisions, food)
acabó bien
(Spanish) (film, play, book, etc.) had a happy ending
acabó de camarero
(Spanish) he ended up (working) as a waiter
acabó en tragedia
(Spanish) ended in tragedy
Acabóse
(Spanish m.) last straw, limit (last straw), great (stupendous)
Acacia
(English, Spanish f.) a tree from which gum arabic is obtained
Acad.
abbreviation of 'academy'
acad.
abbreviation of 'academic' or 'academical'
Academia
(English) the academic world, scholastic life
(Spanish f.) academy, school
Academia de Arte y Cultura Maya
(Spanish f.) a school in Guatamala set on the road leading from the famous church of Santo Tomas in Chichicastenango (originally Chuii La, meaning 'above the nettles') to a secluded clearing in the mountains known as Pascual Abaj where rituals sacred to the Maya have been performed for centuries. The school provides courses of study that promote knowledge of the glory of Maya civilization. Chichicastenango was where between 1701 and 1703 a friar by the name of Francisco Ximenez became the first Westerner to see the book which subsequently became known as The Manuscript of Chichicastenango which preserves in dramatic form the knowledge and beliefs of the Quiche people about their origin and gives a brilliant glimpse into the values and ideals of the Maya. The manuscript is now housed in the University of Chicago
Academia de Bellas Artes
(Spanish f.) Academy of Fine Arts (for the study of painting, sculpture, drawing, etc.)
Academia de conductores
(Spanish f.) driving school
Academia de cursos sanitarios
(Spanish f.) college of healthcare training
Academia de idiomas
(Spanish f.) language school
Academia de música
(Spanish f.) music academy, music school
Academia de policía
(Spanish f.) police academy
Academic
a university teacher or scholar
academic
scholarly, theoretical, abstract, unpractical
Academic dance
this term encompasses the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century ballet de cour and the national schools (the 'academies of dance') that stem from it, positions, steps and movements codified in the dance d'école
Academic Festival Overture
the title of an orchestral composition (Akademische Festouvertüre, op. 80) by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) written for the University of Breslau upon their awarding him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1879. The work includes references to a number of German students songs
Academician
a member of an Academy
Académicien (m.), Académicienne (f.)
(French) a member of an academy, particularly, in France, a member of the Académie Française (founded in 1635)
Academicismo
(Spanish m.) academism, formalism
academicismo
(Spanish) academic
Académico (m.), Académica (f.)
(Spanish) academic, academician
académico (m.), académica (f.)
(Spanish) academic (study, year)
Academic Year
the university year, which in the British Isles usually begins in October
Académie
(French f.) academy
by 1700, there were five Parisian academies:
Académie française
1637
Académie royale de peinture et sculpture
1648
Académie royale des inscriptions et belle lettres
1663
Académie royale des sciences
1666
Académie royale d'architecture
1671
in the eighteenth century, there were two more Parisian academies:
Académie royale de chirurgie
1731, 1748
Société royale de medicine
1776, 1778
by the middle of the eighteenth century, there were a further 30 or so regional academies
in the early nineteenth century, the term was applied to concerts and recitals
Académie de musique
(French f.) music academy, a society for encouraging music
Académie de poesie et de musique
(French f.) see 'Baïf's Academy'
Académie française
the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language
(French f.) founded 28 June 1669, the Académie royale de musique was founded at the instigation of Jean Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) following the principles laid down by the poet Pierre Perrin. Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) became director in 1672. Its role was to produce light entertainment in French for the Court, to arouse public interest in music and to ensure a high standard of music teaching. Until 1793 it collaborated on the creation of librettos with the French Academy and the Academy of Literature. In August 1793, The National Convention closed or purged all academies and learned societies. The Académie royale de Musique was reformed as the Opéra
(from the Greek, named after the legendary hero Akademos) a learned group accepted as authoritative in its discipline (subject area), or a school in which art is taught. Originally the school of philosophy founded by Plato (427-347 BCE) in the garden of Academe, a district in the vicinity of Athens. It was closed by the Justinian I, Roman Emperor (527-65), with the other pagan schools, in 529 CE. The term usually refers to a recognized society established for the promotion of one or more of the arts or sciences. The earliest such organization was the Museum of Alexandria, founded by Ptolemy I (Ptolemy Soter, d. 284 BCE), king of ancient Egypt, in the third century BCE. The first such academy following the classical era in Europe was the Florentine Academy of Design (Accademia di Designo), founded by Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) in 1560. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was elected an officer in 1563. Numerous academies flourished in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, and Britain during and since the Renaissance. By 1729 there were more than five hundred in Italy alone
(English, German m.) the Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers
Johann Christoph Pepusch (1667-1752) was one of the founders, in 1710, of The Academy of Vocal Music, which in 1726 was renamed The Academy of Ancient Music. On page 76 of Joseph Doane's Directory, we read that, "In the year 1710 (memorable for Handel's first appearance among us) a number of the most eminent composers and performers in London [agreed], to concert a plan of an Academy for the study and practice of vocal and Instrumental Music, which was no sooner announced than it met the countenance and support of the principal persons of rank. Among the foremost in this undertaking were Mr. John Christopher Pepusch, Mr. John Earnest Galleard an excellent composer and performer on the Oboe, Mr. Bernard Gates of the Queen's Chapel, Henry Niedler etc." The Academy's primary aim was to promote the performance of works from the sixteenth century. Later, after a period of inactivity, in 1735, the Academy of Ancient Music was reconstituted as a seminary for training boys in music by Pepusch, who had by then left the employ of the Duke of Chandos and continued to work as an organist and a teacher. The name is also used today by a period-instrument orchestra founded by Christopher Hogwood
Academy of Vocal Music, The
see 'Academy of Ancient Music'
a cadenza
(Italian) in the style of a cadenza, kadenzartig (German), frei zu interpretieren (German), zu improvisieren (German)
Acad. fran.
abbreviation of Académie française (French)
Acadian
from Acadia, the Latinized form of Acadie, the French name of Nova Scotia, probably itself from Archadia, the name given to the region by Verrazano in 1524, from the Greek Arkadia, emblematic in pastoral poetry of a place of rural peace. The name may have been suggested to Europeans by the Micmac Indian word akadie, meaning 'fertile land'. The Acadians, expelled by the English in 1755, settled in large numbers in Louisiana and their music and instruments became one of the defining influences on Cajun culture
Acad. mus.
abbreviation of 'academy of music'
acaecer
(Spanish) to happen, to occur
Acaecimiento
(Spanish m.) occurrence
Acajou
(French m.) mahogany
à califourchon
(French) astride
à califourchon sur
(French) astride
acallar
(Spanish) to silence
Acaloramiento
(Spanish m.) heat
acalorar
(Spanish) to warm up, to excite (figurative)
acalorarse
(Spanish) to get worked up (figurative), to get hot, to get warm, to get excited (figurative)
acalorado (m.), acalorada (f.)
(Spanish) heated (discussion), angry (heated), worked up (person), excited (worked up), hot (with heat)
a cámera lenta
(Spanish) in slow motion
Acampada
(Spanish f.) camp, camping
acampanado (m.), acampanada (f.)
(Spanish) bell-shaped, flared (skirt)
Acampante
(Spanish m./f.) camper
acampar
(Spanish) to camp
acanalado (m.), acanalada (f.)
(Spanish) grooved
Acanaladura
(Spanish f.) groove
acanalar
(Spanish) to groove
acanallar
(Spanish) to debase, to degrade (debase)
Acanthus
(Latin) a conventional representation of the leaf of the plant Bear's Breeches, used in the capital of the Corinthian column
(Spanish) to hoard, to corner (the market), to stockpile, to monopolise (conversation, the attention of a person, etc.), to capture (interest, attention)
a capella
generally incorrect spelling of a cappella
a capite ad calcem
(Latin) from head to heel
a cappella
(Italian) music that is vocal or choral but without instrumental accompaniment (sometime incorrectly written with one p, i.e. a capella), nach Art der Sänger-Kapellen (German)
(Italian) or alla cappella (although alla breve is actually the correct term), church music having 2 minims (whole notes) in a bar and marked with a time signature in the shape of a large C (i.e. in common time)
in sixteenth-century a cappella performance, the performing pitch was set not by the notated parts but rather "to have regard for those who are to sing, that they be at ease with the pitch, neither too high nor too low" (taken from Ludovico Zacconi's Prattica di Musica, pub. Venice, 1596)
a cappella music was and is often used in church music and particularly that of those groups listed below:
Gregorian chant
in the Roman catholic church, the traditional music for Latin texts, Gregorian chant is performed in unison and with free-flowing rhythms that follow the phrasing of the text and the chants often call for one syllable to be sung across several notes
Renaissance sacred vocal music
the majority of sacred vocal music from the Renaissance is unaccompanied. The finest examples are generally considered to be those written by the Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
trecento madrigal
the sixteenth-century madrigal, a setting for 3-6 voices of a secular text, often in Italian, a form that has its origins in the frottola, and was also influenced by the motet and the French chanson of the Renaissance, is related mostly by name alone to the Italian trecento madrigal of the late 13th- and 14th-centuries, that were set for 2 or 3 voices without accompaniment, or with instruments possibly doubling the vocal lines
(Italian) a madrigal, or madrigal-like piece of music, with a sacred rather than a secular text. Most examples of the form date from the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras, and principally come from Italy and Germany. Madrigali spirituali were almost always intended for an audience of cultivated, often aristocratic amateurs. They were performed at private houses, academies, and courts of noblemen in Italy and adjacent countries, but almost certainly were not used liturgically. Although originally the madrigale spirituale was an a cappella form, instrumental accompaniment was used on occasion, especially after 1600
exclusive psalmody
following the regulative principle of worship, many Reformed churches adopted the doctrine of exclusive psalmody: every hymn sung in worship must be a close paraphrase of a Psalm or some other Biblical passage. Some Reformed churches, especially the Calvinists, rejected the use of instrumental music and organs in church, preferring to sing all of the music a cappella. Even today, the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and other Reformed churches of the Scottish tradition maintain this practice
"We declare, that it is the will of God that the songs contained in the Book of Psalms be sung in His worship, both public and private, to the end of the world; and in singing God's praise, these songs should be employed to the exclusion of the devotional compositions of uninspired men." Article XVIII, Of Psalmody, The Testimony of the United Presbyterian Church of North America (1858) Exclusive Psalmody Homepage from which this quotation has been taken
The Amish
a cappella singing of hymns from the Ausbund, first published in 1564, reputedly the oldest Protestant hymnal in continuous use
Old Regular Baptists
a tradition that dates back to the sixteenth century, the singing of the Old Regular Baptists from the Kentucky coal-mining country in the heart of the southern Appalachian Mountains is one of the oldest and deepest veins of the English/Scots/Irish-based American melodic traditions. This hymnody, with its elaborate, lined-out, unaccompanied singing, is not well known outside its region
Primitive or Old School Baptists
the Primitive and Regular Baptists have continued the centuries old tradition of congregational hymn singing without the accompaniment of musical instruments - a practice which had previously been standard for most Protestant faiths
The Church of Christ
one of the earliest advocates of the return to New Testament Christianity, as a means of achieving unity of all believers in Christ, was James O'Kelly of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1793 he withdrew from the Baltimore conference of his church and called upon others to join him in taking the Bible as the only creed. His influence was largely felt in Virginia and North Carolina where history records that some seven thousand communicants followed his leadership toward a return to primitive New Testament Christianity. As a result of the distinctive plea of the church - a return to New Testament Faith and practice - most congregations of the Church of Christ adopt a cappella singing as the only music used in the worship. This singing, unaccompanied by mechanical instruments of music, conforms to the music used in the apostolic church and for several centuries thereafter (Ephesians 5:19). It is felt that there is no authority for engaging in acts of worship not found in the New Testament. This principle eliminates the use of instrumental music, along with the use of candles, incense, and other similar elements [taken from Who are the churches of Christ and what do they believe in?]
Old German Baptist Brethren
descended from a pietist movement in Schwarzenau, Germany in 1708, when Alexander Mack founded a community with 8 believers. They are one of seven Brethren groups that trace themselves to that original founding body. These are historically part of the German Baptists or Church of the Brethren rather than English Baptists. Other names by which they are identified are Dunkers, Dunkards, Tunkers, and Täufer, all relating to their practice of baptism by immersion. Because of persecution, many Brethren emigrated to America. They follow the old Protestant tradition of unaccompanied hymn singing
Eastern Orthodox Christians (especially Russian and other Slavic groups)
Orthodox services are sung nearly in their entirety. Services consist in part of a dialog between the clergy and the people, often represented by the choir or the Psaltis (Cantor). In each case the text is sung or chanted following a prescribed musical form. Almost nothing is read in a normal speaking voice with the exception of the homily if one is given. The church has developed eight Modes or Tones, (see Octoechos) within which a chant may be set, depending on the time of year, feast days, or other considerations of the Typikon. There are numerous versions and styles that are traditional and acceptable and these vary a great deal between cultures. It is common, especially in the United States, for a choir to learn many different styles and to mix them, singing one response in Greek, then English, then Russian, etc. This adds to the beauty and universality of the service
Sacred Harp
a tradition of sacred choral music that took root in the Southern region of the United States. It is part of the larger tradition of shape note music, more often sung at singing conventions than at church services. Sacred Harp groups always sing a cappella, the singers arranging themselves in a square, with a row of chairs or pews on each side assigned to each of the four parts: treble, alto, tenor, and bass
Fasola
the Fasola tradition is one of unaccompanied singing, that is, without any assistance by instruments. Thus when singing shape-note hymns it is practice first to 'sing the notes', that is, to sing the fa-sol-la syllables corresponding to the shapes in the music before singing the text. This serves to set the tune in memory and enables persons to more easily sight-read previously unseen or unheard music. Tunes are sung in relative pitch, rather than at an absolute pitch derived from a'=440Hz; referred to as 'pitch of convenience', a long standing tradition as can be seen from 'directions for setting the first Note' from the Bay Psalm Book
Plygain
(Welsh, literally 'cockcrow') the traditional early-morning carol service held in Welsh churches on Christmas Day. This service took the place of the Cockcrow Mass, or Dawn Mass early on Christmas Morning. Many of the carols and songs are very old indeed, and the music is pure polyphonic harmony, traditionally sung by men and without accompaniment although that aspect of the tradition is fading
hiva usa
in the smaller Tongan churches and the minority Methodist sects, hymn singing is unaccompanied, hiva usa. A strong singer will sing the first notes alone (a practice called hua or opening) and the rest of the congregation will then join. Church choirs are popular, practice is frequent, and most congregations sing all hymns in harmony
himene tarava
a form of singing common in French Polynesia and the Cook Islands, unaccompanied vocal Christian music that is distinguished by a unique drop in pitch at the end of the phrases, which is a characteristic formed by several different voices; it is also accompanied by steady grunting of staccato, nonsensical syllables
imene tuki imene metua
unaccompanied vocal music known for a uniquely Polynesian drop in pitch at the end of the phrases, as well as staccato rhythmic outbursts of nonsensical syllables (tuki)
nasheeds anasheeds
many Muslims have adopted the idiom of a cappella music, songs known as nasheeds or anasheeds, since mainstream traditional Islam prohibits the use of instruments except for some basic percussion
zemirot
(singular zemer) Jewish hymns, usually sung in the Hebrew or Aramaic languages, but sometimes also in Yiddish or Ladino. The best known zemirot are those sung around the table during on Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath) and Jewish holidays. Some of the Sabbath zemirot are specific to certain times of the day, such those sung for the Friday evening meal, the Saturday noon meal, and the third Sabbath meal just before sundown on Saturday afternoon. Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrations on the Sabbath sometimes feature entertainment by a cappella ensembles. In some editions of the Jewish prayerbook (siddur), the words to these hymns are printed after the opening prayer (kiddush) for each meal. Other zemirot are more generic and can be sung at any meal or other sacred occasion
secular a cappella singing features in:
collegiate a cappella
some larger American universities have a dozen or more a cappella groups
Barbershop Beautyshop
a popular, banal style of close harmony singing, originally all male, begun in the US in the late nineteenth century but derived from a seventeenth-century European tradition of singing in barber-shops. Today, when using four male voices, the disposition is generally bass, baritone, lead (who has the melody) and tenor (who is pitched higher than the lead) although more recently women too have taken up this a cappella genre, some calling themselves 'beautyshop quartets'
Bulgarian women's choirs
the distinctive sounds of women's choirs (for example, Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, founded in 1951) in Bulgarian folk music comes about partly because of their unique harmonies, including the use of close intervals like the major second, and their unusual polyphony. Their sound is said to be "open-throated", though this is actually a misnomer; singers actually constrict their throats to amplify the voice's focus and strength, giving it a distinctive sound
klapa
(Croatian, literally 'a group of people') klapa music is a Croatian form of a cappella singing that traces its roots to litoral church singing. The motifs in general celebrate love, wine (grapes), country (homeland) and sea. Main elements of the music are harmony and melody, with rhythm very rarely being very important. A klapa group consists of a first tenor, a second tenor, baritone and bass. It is possibe to double all the voices apart from the first tenor. Although klapa is a cappella music, on occasion it is possible to add a gentle guitar and a mandolin (instrument similar in appearance and sound to tamburitzas). In recent times, female vocal groups have been quite popular, but in general male and female groups do not mix
doo wop
a genre (usually a cappella) of Black vocal-harmony music of the 1950s that evolved in New York City from gospel singing, characterized by close four-part harmonies. The name derived from some of the nonsense syllables sung by the back-up vocalists
mbube isicathamiya
since the 1930s, a name given to a cappella Zulu polyphony. The name is derived from the Zulu verb -cathama, which means 'walking softly', or 'tread carefully'. Isicathamiya contrasts with an earlier name for Zulu a cappella singing, mbube, meaning 'lion'. The change in name marks a transition in the style of the music: traditionally, music described as Mbube is sung loudly and powerfully, while isicathamiya focuses more on achieving a harmonious blend between the voices. The name also refers to the style's tightly-choreographed dance moves
contemporary a cappella
contemporary popular music is sung a cappella, without accompaniment by instruments. Smaller groups may arrange themselves with one solo voice, one rhythmic bass line and the remainder, a chorus, providing a chordal or polyphonic accompaniment
(Italian) at will, as the player wishes, freely (particularly as regards the time), capriciously, ad libitum (Latin), launenhaft (German), kapriziös (German), capricieusement (French)
acaracolado
(Spanish) spiral
acaramelado (m.), acaramelada (f.)
(Spanish) coated with caramel, sugary, toffee-coated
acariâtre
(French) cantankerous
acariciador
(Spanish) caressing
acariciar
(Spanish) to caress (person), to stroke (cheek, hair), to brush (against), to stroke (dog, cat), to caress, to touch lightly, to cherish (project), to have in mind (project)
A´caro
(Spanish m.) mite
acarrear
(Spanish) to give rise to (problems), to lead to (problems), to carry (packets, materials), to carry, to transport, to lug (colloquial), to entail (have consequences), to cause (disgrace)
à carreaux
(French) check, checked (pattern)
Acarreo
(Spanish m.) transport
acartonado
(Spanish) wizened (person)
acartonarse
(Spanish) to go stiff (rigid), to become wizened (person)
Acaso
(Spanish m.) fate, chance
acaso
(Spanish) maybe, perhaps
acaso llueva mañana
(Spanish) perhaps it will rain tomorrow
¿acaso no te lo advertí?
(Spanish) didn't I warn you?
¿acaso no te lo dije?
(Spanish) I told you, didn't I?
¿acaso se le ha olvidado dónde está la salida?
(Spanish) has he forgotten the way out, then? (ironic)
¿acaso tengo yo la culpa?
(Spanish) is it my fault?
Acatalectic
a "normal" line of poetry with the expected number of syllables in each line, as opposed to a catalectic line (which is missing an expected syllable) or a hypercatalectic line (which has one or more extra syllables than would normally be expected, perhaps due to anacrusis)
(Spanish) to obey, to comply with, to respect (rules, terms), to observe (rules)
acatarrarse
(Spanish) to catch a cold, to get a cold
Acathistus
(Latin from the Greek) a hymn in praise of the Blessed Virgin in the Greek rite. The text and music were both written by the patriarch Sergios in 626 CE
acaudalado (m.), acaudalada (f.)
(Spanish) wealthy, well off
acaudillar
(Spanish) to lead
à cause de
(French) because of
acá y allá
(Spanish) here and there
acc.
abbreviation of 'accent', 'accompanied (by)', 'accompaniment', 'accusative' (case expressing the object of an action)
accablant (m.), accablante (f.)
(French) oppressive (heat)
accablé (m.), accablée (f.)
(French) crushed, overwhelmed
Accablement
(French m.) despondency
accabler d'injuries
(French) to heap insults upon
Accademia
(Italian f.) an academy, a concert
Accademia degli incogniti
(Italian f.) a group of iconoclastic intellectuals who promoted and set the tone for many of the libretti of mid seventeenth-century Venetian operas, whose plots are shockingly frank and frequently amoral. In keeping with their belief in the supremacy of word over music, the librettist, seem as more important than the composer, retained the right to publish and profit from his libretto, which was often judged in its own right as a work of literature. However, whatever the merits of this intellectual position, the need to finance these early operas, by selling tickets, forced a recognition that the public always likes a good tune more than any amount of fine words. What began as a recitative and monody-dominated genre was, by the middle of the century, much more broken up with arias. In addition, aspects of the productions, such as scenery, costumes (to a lesser extent) and stage machinery, were important crowd-pleasing elements
Accademia dei Arcadi
(Italian f.) a learned association founded in Rome in 1692 which included among its members the composers Marcello, Corelli, Alessandro Scarlatti and Gluck
Accademia di Platone
(Italian f., literally 'Plato's Academy') a learned association founded in 1470 at the court of Lorenzo de' Medici in Florence
Accademia di Santa Cecilia
(Italian f., literally 'Academy of St. Cecilia') St. Cecilia is the patron saint of music and musicians. Founded in 1585, the Accademia di Santa Cecilia is the oldest musical academy in the world. For centuries, it attracted the attention of the popes, ensuring its prominence in Rome with regard to cultural events. Today, the Accademia proposes seasonal events performed by some of the most celebrated contemporary artists and orchestras in the world
(Italian f.) a society of professional and amateur musicians dedicated to the study of the history and science of music as well as music education, that was established in Bologna in 1666 and which included among its members Corelli, Torelli, Domenico Gabrielli, Mozart, Rossini and Busoni
(Italian) accelerated, livelier, gradually increasing the speed, at a quicker speed, beschleunigt (German)
Accelorator
a level or pedal, part of the mechanism on automatic instruments (organs, pianos, etc.) which allows the operator to vary the speed at which the music is performed, and, in some cases, the dynamic level too
Accelerazione
(Italian f.) acceleration
accéléré
(French) accelerated
accélérer
(French) accelerating, getting steadily faster, quickening the pace, accelerando, schneller werden
accelo.
abbreviated form of accelerando
accendere
(Italian) to light, to turn on (light, radio, TV, etc.)
accennare
(Italian) to indicate
accennare a
(Italian) to beckon to, to hint at, to make as if
Accenno
(Italian m.) gesture, nod (of the head), hint
Accensione
(Italian f.) lighting
Accent
(English, French m.) acento (Spanish m.), accento (Italian m.), Betonung (German f.), Akzent (German m.)
a particular mode of pronounciation (hence, local or regional accent)
in prose, prominence given to a syllable by stress or pitch
a mark placed on a letter within a word often to indicated a stress
in recitation, accents are used to mark where the pitch of the voice should alter; thus accentus acutus (´) indicates where the pitch of the voice should rise and the accentus gravis (`) indicates where the pitch should fall. Two further signs, the accentus circumflexus (ˆ) and the accentus anticircumflexus () are used to indicate an inflection, where the pitch is first raised and then lowered or an inverted inflection, where the pitch is first lowered and then raised. The accentus anticircumflexus is a modern invention while the other three accents form the basis of the earliest neumatic notation
(French) in music, a grace called 'the springer'
(French) in music, an appoggiatura that places a grace note between two notes a 3rd apart, or that repeats the first of two notes a 2nd apart
Accent
in connection with the articulation of individual notes or passages, accents are:
agogic (accent)
by extending the beat, as in a Viennese waltz
dynamic (accent)
by varying the loudness (either louder or softer)
metrical (accent)
by shifting the beat, as, for example, in sycopation
tonic (accent)
by pitching a note significantly higher than neighbouring notes
timbral (accent)
by accentuating a note through a change in its tonal character, for example, on a wind-instrument, by adding 'chiff'
Lerdahl and Jackendoff (1983) and Kramer (1988) define three kinds of accent:
metrical accent (L&J, K)
which denotes a beat (a time point) that is relatively strong in its metrical context
phenomenal accent (L&J) stress accent (K)
a surface emphasis or stress given to a moment in the musical flow
structural accent (L&J) rhythmic accent (K)
denoting an accent caused by melodic/harmonic points of gravity in a phrase or section, especially a cadence
Accent from which the table above has been derived
a note bearing an accent, nota accentata (Italian), betonte Note (German), note frappée (French), , note accentuée (French)
Accented part of the bar
or 'strong beat', tiempo fuerte (Spanish), tempo forte (Italian), Guter Takttheil (German), Guter Taktteil (German), bon temps de la mesure (French), temps forte (French)
Accented passing note
an accented passing note could be considered an appoggiatura or dissonance that occurs on a weak beat. Although this is an oxymoron, since appoggiaturas, by definition, occur on strong beats, it does make some sense. The dissonance occurs on a weak beat, but the resolution of the dissonance occurs on a weaker portion of the beat. Therefore, the dissonance does occur on a stronger portion of the beat in relation to its resolution. Accented passing notes, as their names imply, are approached and left by step
Accent grave
(German m., from French m.) grave accent (`)
Accenti
(Italian pl.) accents, stresses
Accent-neumes
see 'neumatic notation'
Accento
(Italian m.) accent, emphasis, accentuation
Accento dobole
(Italian m.) the up-beat in a bar
Accentor
(English, from Latin accentus) an archaic term, signifying the person who takes the principal part in a duet, trio, etc.
Accent pedal
a quick damper pedal touch for emphasis, for a strong accent
Accents
(French m. pl.) accents
Accents décalés
(French m. pl.) shifted accents
accentuando
(Italian) accenting
accentuare
(Italian) to mark with an accent, to accentuate
(Italian) accessory notes, for example, the upper note in a trill, or the notes above and below the written note in a turn
Accentuate
emphasize, make prominent
Accentuation
(English, French f.) the placing of a stress or accent on a letter or syllable, or in music on a note or group of notes
(French) accent, emphasize, accentuate (a letter or syllable, or in music a note or group of notes)
accentuering
(Dutch) accentuation
accentuiren
(German) to accentuate, to mark with an accent
Accentus
(Latin, literally 'song added to speech') Betonung (German f.), portions of the Ritual Song chanted or intoned by the officiating minister at the altar in the Roman Catholic rite, as distinct from concentus, the responses from the schola (the choir, soloists or both)
the term is also used to distinguish the plainer forms of plainsong which stay mainly on a single reciting tone (accentus) and which, indeed, is the chant style employed by the officiating minister, and the more melismatic form (concentus), which is associated with the schola (the choir and soloists)
Accentus acutus
see 'accentus ecclesiastici', 'accent'
Accentus circumflexus
see 'accent'
Accentus ecclesiastici
(Latin) melodic forms used in the Roman Catholic rite in chanting or recitation of the collects, epistles, gospels, etc., sung almost entirely upon one note and formerly of seven kinds:
accentus immutabilis
when the last syllable is neither raised nor lowered, the voice continuing on the tone employed for the preceding syllable or syllables
accentus medius
when the voice is lowered by a third on the last syllable
accentus gravis
when the voice is lowered by a fourth on the last syllable
accentus acutus
when, after having lowered the voice a third on one of the concluding syllables, the original tone is then resumed on the last syllable
accentus moderatus
when, some of the syllables preceding the last have been raised a second, the original tone is resumed on the last syllable
accentus interrogatus
when the voice is elevated by a second on the last syllable of a question
accentus finalis
when the voice falls by degrees a fourth on the last syllable
(English, French) approachable (personality), easy to understand (idea, concept), requiring little intellectual effort (music, work of art)
some may see the comment 'accessible music or art requires little intellectual effort' as being elitist. Indeed it is, but our dictionary is only reflecting the way this word is used in certain circles - we are not making a value-judgement
Accession
an object acquired by a museum or any other collector as part of its permanent collection, or the act of recording and processing an addition to the permanent collection. The opposite of accession is deaccession
Accession number
a control number unique to an object, used to identify it among the other objects in that collection. It is part of the numbering system encompassing the permanent collection of an individual or an institution, and reflects the transaction making an object a part of that collection. An accession number is assigned based on the order in which it was acquired, not on its kind, and typically consists of the year of accession and the serial number within that year
Accessit
(French m.) honourable mention, a certificate of merit
accessit
(Latin) has been added
Accessoire (s.), Accessoires (pl.)
(German n. from French m.) accessory (to clothing), prop (in the theatre)
Accessoiriste
(French m./f.) property man or mistress (in the theatre)
accessorie
(French) secondary
Accessorio (s.), Accessori (pl.)
(Italian m.) accessory
Accessori
(Italian m. pl.) fittings (as in fixtures and fittings)
Accessory stops
the non-speaking stops of an organ, for example, couplers, composition pedals, pistons, ventils, swell and sforzando pdeals, tremulant, etc.
accettabile
(Italian) acceptable
accettare
(Italian) to accept, to agree to
Accettazione
(Italian f.) acceptance, reception (place)
Accezione
(Italian f.) meaning
acchetandosi
(Italian) or acquietandosi (Italian), becoming calmer, sich beruhigend (German), en s'apaisant (French)
Acchop raga
a lesser knownraga from the Hindustani classical music tradition
acciaccare
(Italian) to crush
acciaccato
(Italian) a spread chord, played from top to bottom
'crushed' note (described by Geminiani (1749) as a dissonant note struck simultaneously with another or in a chord, but released immediately 'as if it was Fire')
'passing acciaccatura' or arpègement figuré (French), notated as a diagonal line passing through the stem of a chord, to indicate that a dissonant note (tone) is to be played within a chord that is to be arpeggiated, that is 'spread'. The direction of the line marks the direction of the arpeggio. C.P.E. Bach describes its method of execution with printed musical examples in his 1753 treatise, Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments, a manual endorsed by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.
Acciacco
(Italian m. pl.) aches and pains
Acciaio
(Italian m.) steel
Acciaio
(Italian m., literally 'steel') Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) designated instrumento d'acciaio for the Glockenspiel part in his opera Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) K.620
Acciaio inossidabile
(Italian m.) stainless steel
Accident
(French m.) in music, an accidental
(English) in logic, some quality or property that an object possesses but which is not essential to it (for example, an object's height)
also 'accident' or 'alteration', alterazione (Italian), accidente (Italian, Spanish), Vorzeichen (German n.), Versetzungszeichen (German n.), (signe d')accident (French m.), (signe d')altération (French m.), (signo de) alteración (Spanish m.)
also called an 'inflection' or 'chromatic inflection', sign for raising (using a sharp or double sharp) or lowering (using a flat or double flat) the pitch of a note or to cancel (using a natural) a previously applied sign
there are three special types of accidental:
cautionary accidental
used where from the rules of music theory an accidental would be understood but might be missed by the player
courtesy accidental
theoretically redundant accidental after a bar-line which, when used, is often placed between brackets
reminder accidental
synonymous with 'cautionary accidental' and 'courtesy accidental'
editorial accidental
an accidental added to a musical score by the editor who believes there is an error in the source. Such an accidental may be placed above or below the note to which it applies, or in parenthesis
note: the sharp and flat signs in a key signature are not strictly accidentals although this term is sometimes used to describe them
(Spanish f.) to pull (lever), to activate (mechanism), to trigger (event), to drive, to work, to gesticulate
Accionariado
(Spanish m.) shareholders (collective term)
Accionista
(Spanish m./f.) shareholder, stockholder (US)
Acclaim
applause, welcome, public praise
welcome or applaud enthusiastically, hail as (acclaimed him king)
acclamare
(Italian) to shout approval or disapproval of, to cry out at
Acclamation
shouting in a person's honour
a genre of non-liturgical Byzantine poetry and music which formed part of the ceremonial of the Byzantine court where it was used to salute the emperor. The genre survives today today in the EasterRussia and the Balkans where it is used to welcome high dignitaries of the Orthodox churches
Acclamations
(French f. pl.) cheers (of acclaim)
Acclamazione
(Italian f.) applause, acclamation
acclamer
(French) to cheer, to acclaim
acclimatare
(Italian) to acclimatize
acclimatarsi
(Italian) to get acclimatized
acclimater
(French) to acclimatize
Acclimation
(French) acclimatization
Acclimatize
adapt to a new climate or set of conditions
Acclivity
steepness
accludere
(Italian) to enclose
accoccolasi
(Italian) to squat
accogliente
(Italian) welcoming
Accolada
(Italian) in music, an accolade is a 'brace' used to join two or more staves
(French f., English, Dutch) brace or bracket - a large { - used to link two or more related staves in a musical score, as, for example, in the two-stave format used in piano or harp music, and in scores (see illustration above)
Accolatura
(Spanish) system
Accolito
(Italian m.) an acolyte
accollare
(Italian) to load, to charge, to yoke (oxen)
(Italian) to fit close to the nack
accollarsi
(Italian) to take upon oneself, to undertake (a task, role, etc.)
Accollatario
(Italian m.) a contractor
accollato
(Italian) high-necked
Accollatura
(Italian f.) system
Accolta
(Italian f.) an assembly, a gathering
accoltellare
(Italian) to knife, to stab
accom.
abbreviation of 'accompaniment'
Accomandatario
(Italian m.) a general partner (in business)
Accomandità
(Italian f.) a limited partnership
accomiatare
(Italian) to dismiss
accomiatarsi (da)
(Italian) to take one's leave (of)
Accommodation address
postal address used by a person who is unable or unwilling to provide a permanent address
Accommodement
(French m.) compromise
Accomodamento
(Italian m.) an arrangement, mending (repairing), an adaptation, a settlement, an accommodation (business), an agreement, an adjustment, a compromise, a reconciliation
accomodante
(Italian) accommodating
accomodare
(Italian) to mend, to repair, to adjust, to adapt, to tune or put into good working order
(Italian) to arrange, to oblige, to settle
accomodarsi
(Italian) to come to terms, to make oneself comfortable, to sit down, to take a seat
accomp.
abbreviation of 'accompaniment', 'accompanied' or 'accompany'
Accompagnamento
(Italian m.) an accompaniment, the figured bass or harmony (as opposed to the melody)
(Italian m.) retinue
Accompagnamento ad libitum
(Italian m.) optional accompaniment
Accompagnamento obbligato
(Italian m.) an accompaniment that is indispensible to a performance
accompagnando
(Italian) accompanying, subsiduary
accompagnano il canto
(Italian) accompanying the song
accompagnare
(Italian) to accompany (for example, a singer), to play from figured bass
(Italian) to accompany, to attend, to wait upon, to escort, to match, to couple, to harmonize, to place side by side
accompagnarsi
(Italian) (in music) to accompany oneself
(Italian) to keep company, to match, to join, to take as a companion
Accompagnateur (m.), Accompagnatrice (f.)
(French) the person who accompanies (on the organ, piano, or any other instrument), one who plays from a figured bass
support provided harmonically, rhythmically or melodically to the main theme in a piece of music, which although often considered to be subordinate may, on occasion, dominate, for example, when the melody line is not playing or, on the piano, when left hand chords accompany a melody in the right hand. The accompaniment may be provided by a group of instruments, for example, the rhythm section in a jazz band, or the orchestral parts in a classical instrumental concerto (for example, a Beethoven piano concerto). The term is also applied to a part played from figured bass
apart from the standard accompaniment described above there are also:
accompaniment ab libitum
an accompaniment that may be omitted in performance
accompaniment obbligato
an accompaniment that is integral to the performance, as, for example, the piano accompaniment to a Schubert song
additional accompaniment
an accompaniment written by someone other than the original composer
Accompaniment ab libitum
see 'accompaniment'
Accompaniment figure
a figuration used repeatedly in an accompaniment, for example, an Alberti bass, other arpeggiation, ostinati or riffs
Accompaniment obbligato
see 'accompaniment'
Accompaniment of the scale
a chordal progression that is used to harmonise a rising or falling scale
Accompaniments
or side-dishes, items offered separately with a dish of food
Accompaniment to a Film Scene
in German Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielszene, an orchestral work by Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), Op.34, composed in Berlin between 1929 and 1930
(Italian m.) shortening, abbreviation, contraction
accorciare
(Italian) to shorten, to curtail, to abridge
accorciarsi
(Italian) to contract, to shrink
Accorciatoia
(Italian f.) a short-cut
Accord
(French m.) a chord, a harmony, accordo (Italian m.)
(French m.) the mode or manner of tuning of an instrument, as, for example, the specified choice of tuning (scordatura) for a particular piece for the violin, accordo (Italian m.)
(French m.) consonance, concord, agreement
accordable
(French) tunable
Accordage
(French m.) tuning, afinación (Spanish)
Accord à l'ouvert
(French m.) a chord that can be played using on the open strings
Accordamento
(Italian) tuning, concord, harmony
Accordance
the relative degree of concordance/discordance of an interval
(Italian) tuning, being in tune with, agreeing, accordante (Italian), zusammenstimmend (German)
in comic opera, a term used to describe the series of notes that an orchestra might play to mimic those of the open strings of a stringed instrument, for example, for the violin, the notes g, d', a' and e"
Accord à note ajoutée
(French) added-note chord
accordante
(Italian) synonymous with accordando (Italian)
Accordanza
(Italian) tuning, concord, harmony
accordare
(Italian) to tune (a musical instrument), to be in tune, to harmonize, accorder (French)
(Italian) match (colours), agreement, be of one heart
(Italian) to reconcile, to grant (loan), to accord, to allow (to permit), to make agree with (grammar), to attune
accordare a
(Italian) to accord to
accordare il violino
(Italian) to tune the violin
Accord arpègé
(French m.) broken chord
accordarsi
(Italian) to concur, to be in accord, to be in harmony, to act in concert, to agree (grammar)
(Italian) to tune up
accordarsi di orchestra
(Italian) to tune up (an orchestra)
accordato, accordati, accordata, accordate
(Italian, various forms) tuned, agreement in harmony or tuning, accordé (French m.), accordée (French f.)
Accordatoio
(Italian) a tuning key
Accordatore (m.), Accordatrice (f.)
(Italian) tuner, for example, a person who tunes a piano or organ
Accordatura
(Italian f.) tuning, concord, harmony
(Italian) in French accord, the mode or manner of tuning on a stringed instrument, for example on a violin the four notes each a fifth from its neighbour, i.e. g, d', a' and e"
the term accordatura is generally applied to the standard or conventional tuning of a stringed instrument as opposed to a special tuning which from the nineteenth century was called scordatura. The system devised by the Italian Attilio Ariosti (1666-1729), described in the entry below, would today be said to be notated in scordatura but was called accordatura by the composer
Thomas Georgi writes:
Every composer/player had his own approach to this notation, and Ariosti's is an especially complicated one, employing every known clef and others he invented besides, not for the usual purpose, but to indicate different positions of the hand, especially to extend the violin fingerings down onto the 5th and 6th strings. However, while the player may know where to place which finger on what string, he does not know what pitch to expect
(French m.) a chord considered solely as itself, without reference to what chord precedes it or what chord follows it
Accord avec barre
(French m.) slash chord
Accord brisé
(French m.) a broken chord
Accord combines
(French m.) compound chord
Accord d'approche
(French m.) passing chord
Accord de dominante
(French m.) dominant chord, V
Accord d'emprunt
(French m.) borrowed chord, a chord borrowed from the parallel key. If the root of the borrowed chord is not in the original key, then they are named by the accidental. For instance, in the major, a chord borrowed from the parallel minor's sixth degree is a "flat six chord" written bVI. Borrowed chords are an example of mode mixture
(French m.) a 'linked' chord, in other words, a chord considered as part of a progression
Accord emprunte (à une autre tonalite)
(French m.) borrowed chord
Accord en intervalles mixtes
(French m.) compound chord
Accordeon
(Dutch m.) accordion
Accordéon
(French m.) also piano du pauvre or piano à bretelles, accordion
Accordéon à boutons
(French m.) button accordion
Accordéon à clavier
(French m.) piano accordion
Accordéon chromatique
(French m.) chromatic accordion
Accordéon chromatique Schrammel
(French m.) see 'Schrammel chromatic
accordion'
Accordéon diatonique
(French m.) diatonic accordion
Accordéon français
(French m.) French accordion
Accordéoniste
(French m.) accordionist
Accordéon italien
(French m.) Italian accordion
accorder
(French) to tune (an instrument), to play in tune (in music), to sing in tune (in music), match (colours)
accorder le violin (ou piano)
(French) to tune the violin (or piano)
Accordeur
(French m./f.) a tuner, a person who tunes an instrument
Accord faux
(French m.) out of tune
Accordian
misspelling of 'accordion'
Accordion
accordéon (French m.), acordeón (Spanish m.), fisarmonica (Italian f.), Akkordeon (German n.), Ziehharmonika (German f.)
a small, portable, box-shaped musical instrument, developed in Saxony (Germany) and Bohemia (Czech Republic), with metal reeds set in motion by air from a bellows operated by the player; the notes are operated either by playing on a piano-like keyboard or buttons, or a combination of the two. The first recognizable button accordion was made by Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann (1805-1864) in Berlin (1821/2), which he called the Hand-Aeoline or Konzertina. This was the instrument Cyrillus Demian (1772-1847) of Vienna turned into a three or four note instrument called the Schieber, afterwards improving it and calling it an Accordeon under which name he patented it in 1829. This type of accordion was the instrument a wayfaring stranger brought with him during a room & board stopover at the Castelfidardo home of Antonio and Lucia Soprani and their sons, one of whom, Paolo Soprani was inspired to start up making accordions in his home in 1864 - the rest, as they say, is history. After the accordion was established (and this was still a button box), Phillip de Punts and Johann Forster, according to Lobel (citing the Accordeon Dictionary, Berlin edition), put a piano keyboard to the accordion in 1865 - which seems to be the first occurrence of a piano accordion
"Accordion, (n). an instrument in harmony with the sentiments of an assassin." Ambrose Bierce (1842-c.1914) from The Devils Dictionary
Accordion Cadien
see 'Cajun accordion'
Accord mineur septieme majeure
(French m.) minor major seventh chord
Accordo
(Italian m.) a chord, a consonance, the tuning of a musical instrument, accord (French m.)
(Italian m.) a concord (grammar)
(Italian m.) a compromise, an accord
(Italian m.) the name of a bass instrument common in Italy with twelve to fifteen strings
Accordo arpeggiato
(Italian m.) broken chord
Accordo consono
(Italian m.) a concord
accordo, d'
(Italian) agreed, granted
accordo, di comune
(Italian) by mutual consent, with one accord
Accordo di nona di dominante
(Italian m.) dominant ninth chord
Accordo di settima
(Italian m.) a seventh chord
Accordo di settima di dominante
(Italian m.) dominant seventh chord
Accordo dissono
(Italian m.) a discord
Accordo fra gentiluomini
(Italian m.) a gentlemen's agreement
Accordoir
(French m.) tuning hammer, tuning key
(French m.) a tuning fork
Accord parfait
(French m.) triad, Dreiklang (German), acorde perfecto (Spanish)
Accord parfait majeur
(French m.) major triad, Durdreiklang (German)
Accord parfait mineur
(French m.) minor triad, Molldreiklang (German)
Accord plaqué
(French m.) block chord (a chord in which all the notes are struck together, as opposed to accord brisé (French: broken chord) where the notes are struck one after another)
Accord préparatoire
(French m.) preparatory chord, the first chord in a cadential progression
Accords combinés
(French m. pl.) compound chords
Accords de cinq notes
(French m. pl.) also accords de cinq sons or accords de neuvième, ninth chords
Accords de quatre cordes
(French m. pl.) four string chords (on a stringed instrument)
Accords de quatre notes
(French m. pl.) also accords de quatre sons or accords de septième, seventh chords
Accords de trois cordes
(French m. pl.) three string chords (on a stringed instrument)
Accords de trois notes
(French m. pl.) also accords de trois sons or accords de quinte, triads
(French) to couple (organ stops), accoppiare (Italian)
accouplez
(French) a direction 'to couple' (organ stops)
Accoutrement
(French m.) garb
accoutumé
(French) customary
Accozzaglia
(Italian f.) jumble, mob (of people)
accozzare
(Italian) to jumble up, to shuffle (cards), to amass, to collect, to put together
accozzarsi
(Italian) to get together, to combine for mischief, to clash
Accozzo
(Italian m.) a jumble, a medley
accreditare
(Italian) to accredit, to confirm the truth of
accréditer
(French) to give credence to
accres.
abbreviated form of accrescendo
accrescendo
(Italian) getting louder, crescendo (Itaian), vermehrend (German), zunehmend (an Tonstärke) (German), stärker werdend (German), en accroissant (French), for example, by augmenting tone and force
accrescere
(Italian) to increase, to augment
accrescersi
(Italian) to increase
Accrescimento
(Italian m.) or accresscimento, an increase, an augmentation, a growth
(Italian) or accresscimento, a prolonging of the time value of a note by placing a dot after it
accresciuto
(Italian) increased, superfluous, augmented (pertaining to intervals)
accrespare
(Italian) to curl, to wrinkle
accresscimento
see accrescimento
Accretion
(Italian, from the Latin, accretionem) a growing larger
Accro
(French m./f.) fan (enthusiast)
Accroc
(French m.) tear, rip, hitch (figurative)
accrocher
(French) to hang up (suspend), to hook, to hitch, to attract
accrochez la pédale
(French) depress the pedal (on a harp, etc.)
accroupi
(French) squatting
accroupir
(French) to squat
Accrued deficits
the delays or lack of development in emotional, social, academic, or behavioral skills that a child or adolescent experiences because of untreated mental illness. The mental illness keeps the individual from developing these life skills at the usual stage of life. An individual may never fully make up for these deficiencies
the adoption and assimilation of an alien culture, the borrowing between cultures, or, the modifying of one person's or group's culture by contact with a different culture. Also, the process by which people acquire knowledge of the cultures in which they live
Accumulator
part of the mechanism of coin-operated electric musical instruments that matches the number of coins deposited to the number of tunes to be played
(Italian f.) accuracy, exactitude, care, precision
accus.
abbreviation of 'accusative' (case expressing the object of an action)
accusé (m.), accusée (f.)
(French) with emphasis, emphasised
accuser reception de
(French) to acknowledge receipt of
ACDCM
abbreviation of 'Archbishop of Canterbury's Diploma in Church Music'
Acebo
(Spanish m.) holly, holly (tree)
Acebuche
(Spanish m.) wild olive tree
acecinar
(Spanish) to cure (meat)
acecinarse
(Spanish) to become wizened
acechar
(Spanish) to spy on, to lie in wait for, to threaten
Acecho
(Spanish m.) spying
Acedera
(Spanish f.) sorrel
à ce destinés
(French) for this purpose
Acedia
see Accidia
(German f.) aridity, laziness, sloth, apathy (particular in regard to one's spiritual life)
Acedía
(Spanish f.) dab (fish), plaice (fish), heartburn (acidity)
acéfalo (m.), acéfala (f.)
(Spanish) acephalic, leaderless
aceitar
(Spanish) to oil, to add oil to (culinary)
Aceite
(Spanish m.) oil, olive oil
Aceite comestible
(Spanish m.) edible oil
Aceite de almendras
(Spanish m.) almond oil (almond tree: Prunus dulcis)
Aceite de almendras dulces
(Spanish m.) (sweet) almond oil
Aceite de ceje
(Spanish m.) seje oil (seje: Oenocarpus batauea)
Aceite de colza
(Spanish m.) rape-seed oil
Aceite de dos tiempos
(Spanish m.) two-stroke engine oil
Aceite de girasol
(Spanish m.) sunflower oil
Aceite de hígado de bacalao
(Spanish m.) cod liver oil
Aceite de linaza
(Spanish m.) linseed oil (linseed plant: Linum usitatissimum)
Aceite de maíz
(Spanish m.) corn oil
Aceite de oliva
(Spanish m.) olive oil
the standard bottles of olive oil contain oil from green olives, black olives, or a combination of both. Green olives make for a strong, peppery taste which is usually used as a base with foods that have a stronger flavour. Oils made from ripe olives have a milder, smoother, somewhat buttery taste without bitterness, and are perfect for foods with subtle flavours because the gentle taste of a ripe olive oil won't overshadow mildly flavoured foods
Aceite de oliva extra virgen
(Spanish m.) extra virgin olive oil
Aceite de olivas negras
(Spanish m.) olive oil made from black olives
Aceite de onagra
(Spanish m.) (evening) primrose oil
Aceite de ricino
(Spanish m.) castor oil
Aceite esencial
(Spanish m.) essential oil (an oil containing the essence of a particular plant, fruit, etc.)
Aceite gastado
(Spanish m.) waste oil, spent oil, used oil
Aceite lubricante
(Spanish m.) lubricating oil
Aceitera
(Spanish m.) oil bottle, oilcan, cruet (culinary)
aceitero
(Spanish) oil
Aceite vegetal
(Spanish m.) vegetable oil
aceitoso (m.), aceitosa (f.)
(Spanish) oily
Aceituna
(Spanish f.) olive
aceitunado (m.), aceitunada (f.)
(Spanish) olive, olive-coloured
Aceituna rellena
(Spanish f.) stuffed olive
Aceituna sin hueso
(Spanish f.) pitted olive
Aceituno
(Spanish m.) olive tree
acelerando
(Spanish) accelerando
Aceleración
(Spanish f.) acceleration
aceleradamente
(Spanish) quickly
acelerado (m.), acelerada (f.)
(Spanish) intensive (training, study), crash (course), accelerated (learning), fast (learner)
Acelerador
(Spanish m.) accelerator (pedal)
Acelerador de partículas
(Spanish m.) particle accelerator (particle physics)
acelerar
(Spanish) to accelerate, to speed up (figurative), to quicken (also figurative), to hurry (up) (colloquial)
aceleró el coche
(Spanish) he accelerated, he revved the engine, he revved the car (up)
Acelga (s.), Acelgas (pl.)
(Spanish f.) chard, Swiss chard
Ace Lhamo
(Tibetan, literally 'fairy sisters') Tibetan Opera
see 'Tibetan opera'
a cemb.
abbreviation of a cembalo (Italian: for the harpsichord)
a cembalo
(Italian) or a cemb., for the harpsichord
Acémila
(Spanish f.) mule, ass (colloquial: as an insult)
Acemilero
(Spanish m.) muleteer
Aceña
(Spanish f.) water-mill
acendrado (m.), acendrada (f.)
(Spanish) pure (as in the purity of a metal)
acendrar
(Spanish) to purify, to refine (metal)
acensuar
(Spanish) to tax
Acento
(Spanish m.) accent (stress, signs placed over or under a letter), accent (intonation characteristic of those from a particular country or region), stress (emphasis), emphasis
Acento agudo
(Spanish m.) acute accent (´)
Acento circunflejo
(Spanish m.) or signo de intercalación (Spanish m.), circumflex accent (ˆ)
(Spanish) to bring ... nearer, to bring ... closer, to bring near, to bring nearer, to bring (over), to bring together (figurative), to give ... a lift (in a car, etc.), to give ... a ride (in a car, etc.)
acercar la mesa a la puerta
(Spanish) to move the table closer to the door, to move the table nearer to the door
acercar las manos al fuego
(Spanish) to hold one's hands closer to the fire
acercar más
(Spanish) to come closer, to come nearer, to get closer, to get nearer
acercarse
(Spanish) to approach (to move near to), to get closer, to get nearer, to bring together (figurative), to draw closer together, to draw near
Acería
(Spanish f.) steelworks
Acerico
(Spanish m.) pincushion
Acero
(Italian m.) or legno di acero (Italian m.), Ahorn (German m.), Érable (French m.), Esdoorn (Dutch), maple
(Spanish) to get right (result, answer), to guess correctly, to be right (decide correctly)
acertar a
(Spanish) to happen to
acertar a hacer ...
(Spanish) to manage to do ... (something)
acertar con
(Spanish) to hit on
acertar la quiniela
(Spanish) to win the pools
acertaste con el regalo
(Spanish) your present was perfect
Acertijo
(Spanish m.) riddle, puzzle
Acervo
(Spanish m.) pile (building), common property, heritage
Acervo cultural
(Spanish m.) cultural tradition, cultural heritage
Acetalharz
(German n.) acetal resin
Acetato
(Spanish m.) acetate
à cet égard
(French) in this respect
Acethylenflasche
(German f.) acetylene cylinder
acético
(Spanish) acetic
Acetileno
(Spanish m.) acetylene
Aceton
(German n.) or Dimethylketon, acetone
Acetona
(Spanish f.) acetone, nail-polish remover
Acetylen
(German n.) acetylene
Acetylenflasche
(German f.) acetylene cylinder
Ach!
(German) Alas!
ach
(German) alack (archaic interjection)
achacar
(Spanish) to attribute
achacarle la culpa a ...
(Spanish) to lay the blame on ... (somebody), to put the blame on ... (somebody)
achacoso (m.), achacosa (f.)
(Spanish) sickly, ailing, unwell, suffering from aches and pains (colloquial)
à chacun son goût
(French) every man to his taste
achaflanar
(Spanish) to bevel
achantar
(Spanish) to scare, to intimidate
achantarse
(Spanish) to back down (figurative), to hide, to corner
achaparrado
(Spanish) stocky (build)
Achaque (s.), Achaques (pl.)
(Spanish m.) ailment, complaint (ailment)
acharné (m.), acharnée (f.)
(French) eager, relentless, ruthless
Acharnement
(French m.) relentlessness, ferocity, desperation
Acharya
teacher
Achat
(French m.) purchase
(German m.) agate (stone)
Achatamiento
(Spanish m.) flattening
Achatamiento polar
(Spanish m.) polar flattening
achatar
(Spanish) to flatten
Achats
(French m.) shopping
Achates
a faithful companion, referring to a character, armour-bearer and faithful friend of Aeneas, in Virgil's Aeneid
Ach du liebe Zeit!
(German) Oh dear! (colloquial), Dear me!
Ach du lieber Himmel!
(German) Heavens!, Goodness gracious me!
Ach du meine Güte!
(German) Good grief!, Dear me!, Good gracious!
Acheré
(Cuba) or atcheré, a small rattle or santería shaker made of either metal, wood, gourd, coconut or other material, used to play the standard bell patterns or other accompaniments in batá ensembles
acheter
(French) to buy, to purchase
à cheval
(French) on horseback, (a line of troops) extending on both sides of a road or river, (in roulette) a stake placed on the line dividing two adjacent numbers
a military signal sounded by the trumpet
à cheval sur
(French) straddling
achevé d'imprimer
(French) printing completed
Achèvement
(French m.) completion
achever
(French) to finish (off)
à chevrons
(French) herring-bone
achicado
(Spanish) childish
achicar
(Spanish) to make smaller, to reduce, to belittle (figurative), to take in (garment), to intimidate (person), to daunt, to bail out (water)
achicarse
(Spanish) to become smaller, to shrink, to be daunted, to be intimidated, to be humiliated
(Spanish m. - Latin America) anatto, anatta, annatto, annotta (various spellings of a dye of reddish yellow made from the pulp around the seeds of a tropical dicotyledonous tree (Bixa orellana, family Bixaceae - also called the 'lipstick tree') - it is used for colouring cheese, butter, etc.)
achís
(Spanish) atishoo!
achispado (m.), achispada (f.)
(Spanish) tipsy (colloquial)
achisparse
(Spanish) to get tipsy
ach ja
(German) oh well
Ach ja?
(German) Really?
Achladolyre
(Greek) a pear-shaped lyra from Thrace-Macedonia
achocolatado (m.), achocolatada (f.)
(Spanish) (chocolate-)brown
acholado (m.), acholada (f.)
(Spanish - Latin America) with (S. American) Indian features
Achromatic
see 'diatonic'
Achromatic music
music that because it seldom modulates is simple enough that it requires few if any accidentals
achromatisch
(German) achromatic, achromatically
Achromat-Linse
(German f.) achromatic lens
Achsabstand
(German m.) centre distance, axial distance
Achsdruckentlastung
(German f.) squat
Achse (s.), Achsen (pl.)
(German f.) centre pin, axis, arbor, pivot, shaft, axle
a characteristic of inert materials; especially said of papers with a 7 pH, or very close to 7 pH. Below 6.5 pH or above 8.5 pH is not considered acid-free. Acid free materials are more permanent, less likely to experience acid migration - to discolor, or to deteriorate materials they are placed with over time. Works on paper, and the mats, mounts, etc. with which they are framed, are best acid free. This term is sometimes used incorrectly as a synonym for "alkaline" or "buffered." Such materials may be produced from virtually any cellulose fiber source (cotton and wood, among others), if measures are taken during manufacture to eliminate active acid from the pulp. However free of acid a paper or board may be immediately after its manufacture, over time the presence of residual chlorine from bleaching, aluminium sulphate (aluminum sulfate) from sizing, or pollutants in the atmosphere may lead to the formation of acid unless the paper or board has been buffered with an alkaline substance. The presence of alpha cellulose in paper or board is an indication of its stability or longevity. Non-cellulosic components of wood are believed to contribute to the degradation of paper and board
(German m., from the English) also known as 'groove jazz' or more recently 'club jazz', a musical genre that combines jazz influences with elements of soul music, funk, disco and also nineties english dance music, particularly repetitive beats and modal harmony. It developed over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as taking the boundary crossing of jazz fusion onto new ground
(Spanish) to clarify, to clear up (weather, day), to break, to dawn, to lighten (colour), to get ... straight (ideas), to rinse (clothes, dishes)
aclararse
(Spanish) to understand, to clear (one's throat)
aclararse la voz
(Spanish) to clear one's throat
aclara temprano
(Spanish) it gets light early
aclaratorio (m.), aclaratoria (f.)
(Spanish) explanatory
Aclimatación
(Spanish f.) acclimatization
aclimatar
(Spanish) to acclimatize
aclimatar a
(Spanish) to acclimatize to
aclimatarse
(Spanish) to become acclimatized, to get acclimatized, to acclimatize, to get used to something (figurative)
à cloche-pied
(French) hopping on one foot
Acme
(from the Greek akme, literally 'point') highest point, the best (figurative), culmination, point of perfection
(Greek) old medical writers divided the progress of a disease into the arche (beginning), anabasis (increase), the acme (crisis) and the paracme (decline)
Acme siren
ACME (Acme) Sirene (German f.), a percussion instrument comprising a cylinder shaped body with a fan-like blade mounted inside, in which, as the performer blows into the cylinder, the blades are set into motion to create a high-pitched whistle effect that determined by the speed of the blades raises or lowers the pitch
(Spanish) to take in (house, give shelter to), to welcome (refugees), to accept (refugee), to admit (refugee), to receive (proposition, person)
acogerse a ...
(Spanish) to have recourse to ... (something), to opt for ... (something)
Acogida
(Spanish f.) welcome, reception, taking in, acceptance, refuge (refugees)
Acogida crítica
(Spanish f.) critical acclaim
acogieron la noticia con satisfacción
(Spanish) the news was well received
acogollar
(Spanish) to bud
acogollarse
(Spanish) to bud
acojonante
(Spanish) bloody great (familiar), bloody terrific (colloquial)
acolchado (m.), acolchada (f.)
(Spanish) quilted, padded
acolchar
(Spanish) to quilt, to pad
Acólito
(Spanish m.) prejorative term for an associate, minion
(Spanish) altar boy, acolyte
Acoloutha
(Greek) the substitution of reciprocal words; that is, replacing one word with another whose meaning is close enough to the former that the former could, in its turn, be a substitute for the latter. This term is best understood in relationship to its opposite, anacoloutha
Acolyte
(French m., from the Greek akolouthos, 'following, attending on') prejorative term for an associate
(in the medieval church) the highest of the minor orders of the ministry, they had particular responsibility for candles and assisted in preparations for mass
(Spanish m. - Mexico) crib (familiar: cheat for an examination)
Acordeón a teclado
(Spanish m.) piano accordion
Acordeón cromático
(Spanish m.) chromatic accordion
Acordeón diatónico
(Spanish m.) diatonic accordion
Acordeón francés
(Spanish m.) French accordion
Acordeonista
(Spanish m./f.) accordionist
Acordeón italiano
(Spanish m.) Italian accordion
Acorde perfecto
(Spanish m.) a triad, accorde parfait (French)
Acorde perfecto mayor
(Spanish m.) major triad
Acorde perfecto menor
(Spanish m.) minor triad
Acorde quebrado
(Spanish m.) broken triad
à cordes croissées
(French) (piano) over-strung
acordonado (m.), acordonada (f.)
(Spanish) cordoned off, sealed off
Acordonamiento
(Spanish m.) cordoning off
acordonar
(Spanish) to tie up (lace up), to lace (up) (shoes, bodice, boots), to surround, to cordon off, to seal off
acordonar la escena del crimen
(Spanish) to seal off the scene of the crime
Acord perfecte major
(Catalan m.) major triad
Acord perfecte menor
(Catalan m.) minor triad
Acorralamiento
(Spanish m.) rounding up (animals), cornering (people)
acorralar
(Spanish) to round up (livestock), to corner (fugative, animal)
Acortamiento
(Spanish m.) shortening
acortar
(Spanish) to shorten, to cut, to cut down (figurative), to cut short (holiday, stay), to reduce length of (movie, film, play, musical piece), to reduce (distance)
acortar camino
(Spanish) to take a short cut
acortar las distancias
(Spanish) to cut down the distance
acortarse
(Spanish) to get shorter
acosar
(Spanish) to hound, to harass, to pester, to pursue relentlessly
acosar (...) con preguntas
(Spanish) to pester ... with questions (somebody), to plague ... with questions (somebody), to bombard ... with questions (somebody)
acosijar
(Spanish - Mexico) to badger, to pester
Acosm
see 'acoasma'
Acoso
(Spanish m.) pursuit, pestering (figurative), hounding, harassment, relentless pursuit
Acoso escolar
(Spanish m.) bullying in school
Acoso sexual
(Spanish m.) sexual harassment
acostar
(Spanish) to put ... to bed (somebody), to bring alongside (nautical), to reach land (nautical)
acostarse
(Spanish) to go to bed, to lie down, to give birth
acostarse boca abajo
(Spanish) to lie face down
acostarse con ...
(Spanish) to go to bed with ... (somebody), to sleep with ... (somebody)
acostumbra a contar cuanto le sucede
(Spanish) he's in the habit of telling everything that happens to him, he's used to telling everything that happens to him, he's accustomed to telling everything that happens to him
acostumbrado
(Spanish) usual
acostumbrado a
(Spanish) used to, accustomed to, in the habit of (used to)
acostumbrar
(Spanish) to get used, to be accustomed
acostumbrar a ...
(Spanish) to get used to ... (something), to get accustomed to ... (something), to be accustomed to ... (something)
acostumbrar a hacer ...
(Spanish) to get used to doing ... (something), to get accustomed to doing ... (something)
acostumbrarse
(Spanish) to get used, to become accustomed
acostumbrarse a ...
(Spanish) to get used to ... (something), to become accustomed to ... (something)
acostumbrarse a hacer ...
(Spanish) to get used to doing ... (something), to become accustomed to doing ... (something)
acostumbro comer a la una
(Spanish) I usually have lunch at one o'clock
Acotación
(Spanish f.) stage direction (in a theatre)
(Spanish f.) (marginal) note, annotation, elevation mark (on a map)
acotado (m.), acotada (f.)
(Spanish) annotated, enclosed (area)
Acotamiento
(Spanish m. - Mexico) hard shoulder (part of a motorway)
acotar
(Spanish) to mark out (ground), to annotate, to add notes to, to enclose (ground), to delimit (problem, subject), to mark with elevations (map)
à-côté
(French) sideline, close by, by comparison, on the side, nearest, nearby
à-côté (s.), à-côtés (pl.)
(French m.) side-issue, perk (incidental benefit), extra (plural form)
à-côté de
(French) compared to, besides, next to, beside (next to)
à-côté de l'histoire
(French m.) byways of history (not the main issues)
Acouasm
see 'acoasma'
à-coup
(French m.) jolt, jerk
Acouphène
(French m.) tinnitus
à-coup, par
(French) spasmodically
à-coups, fait(e) par
(French) spasmodic
à-coups, par
(French) in fits and starts
à-coups, sans
(French) smoothly (i.e. not in fits and starts)
à-coups, travailler par
(French) to work by fits and starts
à coup sûr
(French) for sure, without fail, definitely
à court terme
(French) short-term
Acousma
see 'acoasma'
Acousmatic music
a form of electroacoustic music that deals specifically with acousmatic sound as a compositional resource
a sound that one hears without seeing the causes behind it
it is thought that the word acousmatic, from the French acousmatique, originates with a term used to refer to probationary pupils of the philospher Pythagoras who, so that they might better concentrate on his teachings, were required to sit in absolute silence while listening to their teacher deliver his lecture from behind a veil or screen. The term acousmatique was first used by the French composer, and pioneer of musique concrete, Pierre Schaeffer. In acousmatic art one hears sound from behind a 'veil' of loudspeakers, the source cause remaining unseen. The term has also been used by the French writer and composer Michel Chion in reference to the use of off-screen sound in film
(French) acousmatic (referring to a sound that one hears without seeing the causes behind it)
Acousmonium
François Bayle created the 'Acousmonium', a loudspeaker orchestra, in 1974 at the GRM in Paris. The 'Acousmonium' contained eighty speakers of different sizes placed across a stage at varying heights and distances. Their placement was based on their range, their power, their quality, and their directional characteristics. In his words, "It puts you inside the sound. It's like the interior of a sound universe."
Acousmonium from which this information has been taken
Acoustic
a term used to distinguish a non-electric instrument from its electric version
a term used to describe the resonant properties of a space, for example a room might be said to have poor resonance (a 'dry' acoustic), or lively reverberation (a 'bright' or 'live' acoustic). The resonant property of a room is important for the clarity of a musical performance, for if the room is too 'live', sounds tend to run into each other and the words of a singer become difficult to hear
or 'acoustic engineering', the branch of engineering dealing with sound and vibration. It is closely related to acoustics, the science of sound and vibration
primarily what is called in German akustische Kunst or Hörkunst, the creation of sound sculptures or installations
a genre that some include, in our opinion incorrectly, under the heading of 'acoustic art' is 'radio drama', called in German Hörspiel, a literary genre, pioneered on radio, with various speakers and a dramatic plot but which may include environmental and composed sound as equivalent forms of musical expression. The terms 'audio drama' or 'audio theatre' are sometimes used synonymously with 'radio drama', with one notable distinction - audio drama or audio theatre is not intended specifically for broadcast on radio
or 'resultant bass', on an organ, the use of difference tones to generate the lower, or lowest, registers. Thus, a 16 ft. stop sounding together with an appropriate note on the 102/3 ft. stop will produce a difference tone equivalent to a note of the 32 ft. register
Acoustic bass guitar
also called 'acoustic bass', an acoustic string instrument based on the configuration of the electric bass pioneered by Leo Fender's electric Fender Precision Bass
a sound, usually high-pitched, caused when sound waves are picked up by a microphone from a loudspeaker connected in the same circuit as the microphone. The particular sound heard is a result of the resonance characteristics of the circuit and the acoustic environment
a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but generally strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound. Much heavier construction is required to withstand the added tension. Sometimes the term steel-stringed guitar or folk guitar is used to differentiate from the classical guitar. The term "acoustic guitar" is a retronym, since before the invention of the electric instrument, "guitar" meant only the non-amplified variety
the more common tunings (low to high) for an acoustic guitar are:
the farthest distance in every direction from which sounds may be heard. Incoming sounds from distant sources define the outer limits over which acoustic communication may normally occur, and thus help to define the perceived geographical relationships between communities
the acoustic impedance Z of a surface or medium is the ratio of the amplitude of the sound pressure r and the amplitude of the particle velocity v of an acoustic wave that impinges on the surface or medium
a subfield of phonetics which deals with acoustic aspects of speech sounds. Acoustic phonetics investigates properties like the mean squared amplitude of a waveform, its duration, its fundamental frequency, or other properties of its frequency spectrum, and the relationship of these properties to other branches of phonetics (e.g. articulatory or auditory phonetics), and to abstract linguistic concepts like phones, phrases, or utterances
a mode of coherent mechanical energy transfer, usually referring to the transfer of energy from the sound source to the surrounding medium. Sound propagation, on the other hand, is the movement of sound waves through a medium
acoustic reflex test used to determine functional integrity of the eardrum and middle ear anatomy:
threshold
the stapedius muscle in the middle ear will contract in response to a loud sound, a reflex action designed to dampen loud sounds before they arrive at the cochlea or inner ear. The absence or presence of acoustic reflexes for various presentations may be important in the differential diagnosis of both peripheral and central disorders of the auditory system such as vestibular schwannoma link or facial nerve disorders link
adaptation or decay
reflex decay is defined as a decline in the contraction of the muscle during a sustained stimulating signal. This is also helpful in interpreting and differentiating auditory test results. In patients with normal middle ear and reflex thresholds, there is no decay during the presentation of the tone. Patients with lesions of the cochlea, eighth nerve or auditory brainstem may have evidence of decay
Acoustics
the science of sound and hearing, properly a branch of physics and of sensory physiology, associated with the study and understanding of the production, transmission and sensation of tone
an industrial injury associated with exposure to loud or damaging sounds, usually associated with office workers, but also suffered from by orchestral players, for example, those sitting immediately in front of the brass section
the perceived area encompassed by a soundscape, either an actual environment, or an imagined one such as produced with a tape recording and several loudspeakers. Every sound brings with it information about the space in which it occurs (for environmental sound) or is thought to occur (as with synthesized sound). With environmental sound, loudness and the quality of reverberation mainly determine the kind of space that is perceived, enclosed or open, large or small. The sense of speeding motion is usually perceived by the presence of a Doppler effect
permanent hearing loss through deterioration of hair cells in the organ of Corti. Such damage usually results from brief exposure to intense noise, in particular those of high frequency
in physics, the acoustic wave equation governs the propagation of acoustic waves through a material medium. The form of the equation is a second order partial differential equation. The equation describes the evolution of pressure p or velocity u as a function of space r and time t. The SI unit of measure for pressure is the pascal, and for velocity is meter per second
Thomas Gerwin created the 'Acoustic World Atlas' in 1998 at ZKM (Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie), in Karlsruhe, Germany. The concept was to document the world in sound. People from around the world sent more than 1,100 sounds typical of where they lived. Gerwin then composed 3 - 21 second sound files that could be played via three 'World Sound Keyboards', where different play modes allowed a player to musically modify the original sounds
(Italian m.) water-colour (painting), water-clour, thin and sour wine
Acquéreur
(French m.) purchaser
Acquerugiola
(Italian f.) fine rain, drizzle
acquiescer
(French) to acquiesce, to agree
acquietandosi
(Italian) or acchetandosi (Italian), becoming calmer, sich beruhigend (German), en s'apaisant (French)
acquietare
(Italian) to appease, to calm
Acquired taste
appreciation that develops through experience
Acquirente
(Italian m./f.) purchaser
Acquis
(French m.) experience
acquis, acquise
(French) established (done), (favours) secured
acquis à
(French) in favour of (a project)
acquisire
(Italian) to acquire
Acquisition
(English, French f.) purchase
acquistare
(Italian) to purchase, to acquire
Acquisto
(Italian m.) purchase
Acquit
(French m.) receipt
Ácrata
(Spanish m./f.) anarchist
ácrata
(Spanish) anarchistic
Acre
(English, Spanish m.) unit of area (43560 square feet, 4840 square yards or 160 square rods: in metric units 4046.87 square metres) used in English-speaking countries. Originally one acre was approximately the amount of land tillable by one man behind an ox in one day. The historical Irish acre (1.62 or 196/121 English acre, also used in Yorkshire and regions bordering the Solway Firth) and the historical Scottish acre (1.3 English acres) were both somewhat larger than the English equivalent
acre
(Spanish, Italian) pungent (odour), acrid (smell), harsh (figurative: words, tone of voice), bitter (taste), biting (figurative: commentary)
(Spanish) to prove, to accredit, to guarantee, to authorize, to credit (financial)
acreditarse
(Spanish) to make one's reputation, to make one's name
acreditativo (m.), acreditativa (f.)
(Spanish) supporting (documents)
Acreedor (m.), Acreedora (f.)
(Spanish) creditor
acreedor
(Spanish) worthy
acreedor a
(Spanish) worthy of
acribillar
(Spanish) to riddle (with bullets), to cover, to pester (with questions), to pepper (with bullets, questions), to bombard (by questions)
acribillar a
(Spanish) to riddle with, to cover with, to pester with, to pepper with, to bombard with
Acrílico
(Spanish m.) acrylic
acrílico (m.), acrílica (f.)
(Spanish) acrylic
Acrimonia
(Spanish f.) sharpness (of a taste), pungency (of an odour), bitterness (figurative)
acrisolado (m.), acrisolado (f.)
(Spanish) pure, proven (figurative)
acrisolar
(Spanish) to purify, to prove
acristalar
(Spanish) to glaze
Acritic songs
acritic songs are of extreme interest to ethnographers. The precise definition for Acritic song is that it features a hero, usually Vasilios Digenisor or certain other heroes that belong to an elite group drawn from the ranks of the provincial aristocracy, or the songs were created, more or less, in frontier regions. Under no circumstance can we label each and every demotic (folk) song about inhabitants or acritan-soldiers as acritic. Acritic songs were composed by professional bards, called agyrtai, but whether these songs are considered a popular creation or a specific specialised literary production depends on the kind of definition adopted. Even so, the Komneneia Digenida is considered to be the basis and point of reference of variants of acritic songs. Another point of view holds that acritic song should be an amalgamation of different translated songs. Although several songs continue to be remembered in some of Cyprus' remote villages, in other parts of Greece they seem to have been lost altogether. These songs represent a part of the long, uninterrupted Cypriot acritic tradition, and may be compared with those of other territories where a similar tradition exists, such as in Rhodes, the Pontus region, Crete, and so on. Greek demotic (folk) songs frequently figure the symbolically-laden figure of Digenis Acritas, hero of the Byzantine national epic, whose positive traits tend to be overstressed, but which has always pointed to the quintessential qualities of the Romios, or Greek. Digenis, as a symbol, is to be found. in the poems of Palamas, as the bearer of the eternal Greek ethos, in the works of Sikelianos, representing anti-authoritarianism, and during the decade 1980-1990 in dramaturgical themes which explore the notion of the frontier between East and West. It is particularly in the Russian regions that the presence of the 'Digenis tradition' is most evident. In the Russian literary heritage, the name of Digenis was transformed to Deugenios and carried the title of Devgenievo de ianie - 'The Geste of Deugenios' or retained the original Digenis or Akritas title. Certain elements from the Digenis epic penetrated Russian folklore; and the songs describing the confrontation with death, greatly resemble the field covered by the acritic heritage.
(Latin) the name given by the ancient Romans to those musicians who performed upon instruments, as opposed to those who sang
Acroataxia
ataxia, shaky and unsteady movements that result from the brain's failure to regulate the body's posture and the strength and direction of movements, affecting the distal portion of the extremities, i.e., hands and fingers, feet, and toes
Acrobacia (s.), Acrobacias (pl.)
(Spanish f.) acrobatics act, acrobatics
Acrobacia aérea
(Spanish f.) aerobatics act
Acrobat
derogatory term applied to the virtuoso dancer who is not concerned with dancing as a whole, but merely with performing the largest possible number of pirouettes, or forcing her legs still higher into the air irrespective of distortion in the hip-line
Acrobata
(Italian m./f.) acrobat
Acróbata
(Spanish m./f.) acrobat
Acrobate
(French m./f.) acrobat
acróbático
(Spanish) aerobatic
Acrobatie
(French f.) acrobatics
Acrobatie aérienne
(French f.) aerobatics
acrobatique
(French) acrobatic
Acrobatismo
(Spanish m.) acrobatics
Acrobazia
(Italian f.) acrobatics
Acrodermatitis
dermatitis of the distal end of the body's extremities
Acroma missale
a collection of six four-voice settings of the Ordinary with instrumental accompaniment composed by Giovanni Battista Bassani (1647-1716). It was published in 1709 as a set of sixteen part-books. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) arranged the first four sections (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo and Sanctus with Osanna I) as an eight-part score. Analysis of watermarks and handwriting establishes Bach's son Gottfried Heinrich as the copyist and dates the different pieces to the period between 1735 and 1747. However, questions about the reason and purpose of the copying of this unoriginal work remain largely unanswered
or acronical, a reference to something happening in the evening or at nightfall
Acronym
acronimo (Italian m.), Akronym (German n.), Initialwort (German n.), Kurzwort (German n.), sigle (French m.), acrónimo (Spanish m.), a word formed from the initial letters in a phrase
acronyms contrast with alphabetisms, in which the word is pronounced aloud by using the names of the actual letters
in music, the use of a name to generate a melodic motif, as for example, B-A-C-H, which employing German note-names, generates the sequence B flat-A-C-B natural. Another example is the motif for Robert Schumann's Abegg Variations (1830) which are dedicated to his friend Meta Abegg
Acronymy
the act of using or creating acronyms
Acrophobia
abnormally afraid of high places
Acrophobic
suffering from acrophobia
Acrophony
the use of a picture symbol of an object to represent phonetically the initial sound of the name of the object. For example, in Hebrew, the first four letters of the alphabet are aleph (the Hebrew word for ox), beth (house), gimel (camel) and daleth (door)
Acropolis
(Greek, literally 'high city') in ancient Greece, usually the site of the city's most important temple(s)
Across, to get something
probably taken from the theatre, where actors must reach the audience across the footlights
Acrostic
poem in which certain letters (most often the first, and/or middle, and/or last of each line) make up a word or a series of words, If both the first and middle letters of each line form a word, the poem is called a double acrostic. If the first, middle and last letters of each line form a word, the poem is called a triple acrostic
Acróstico
(Spanish m.) acrostic
acróstico
(Spanish) acrostic
Acroterion (s.), Acroteria (pl.)
(Greek) or acroterium (Latin), a pedestal for a statue at the corner of a pediment
a cruce salus
(Latin) from the cross comes salvation
Acryl
(German n.) acrylic
Acrylfarbe
(German f.) acrylic paint
Acrylglas
(German n.) acrylic glass, Lucite ®
Acrylglasfenster
(German n.) plexiglass window
Acrylharz
(German n.) Lucite ®, acrylic resin
Acrylnitril-Butadien-Styrol-Copolymerisat
(German n.) or ABS, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (a thermoplastic)
act.
abbreviation of 'acting' (meaning one person, in a temporary capacity, carrying out the duties of another), 'active' (active form or voice of a verb)
the largest division of a play or opera, which can be sub-divided into scenes
Acta
(Latin, Spanish f.: in Spanish the noun takes a masculine article in the singular) minutes, record (of proceedings), proceedings (record of), certificate (of birth, death, marriage), official document
Acta de certificación
(Spanish f.) signature authentication record (certificate, document)
Acta de defunción
(Spanish f. - Latin-America) entry in the register of deaths
Acta de graduación
(Spanish f.) graduation certificate, diploma
Acta de matrimonio
(Spanish f. - Mexico) marriage certificate
Acta de nacimiento
(Spanish f. - Mexico) birth certificate
acta non verba
(Latin) deeds not words
Acta notarial
(Spanish f.) notarized deed, affidavit
Acta Sanctorum
(Latin, German pl.) Acts of the Saints
Acta taquifrafica
(Spanish f.) stenographic record, shorthand record
Act curtain
see ''main drape'
Acte
(French m.) act (in the theatre), part of an opera
Acte de cadence
(French m.) atto di cadenza (Italian), the two chords that form a cadence
(French m.) atto di cadenza (Italian), the two notes, usually in the bass part, that act harmonically to define a cadence
(French m.) the final part of an opera or play
Acte d'opéra
(French m.) part of an opera
Acte gratuit
(French m.) gratuitous impulsive act, a term borrowed from the writings of André Gide (1869-1951)
Actes
(French m. pl.) proceedings
Acteur (m.), Actrice (f.)
(French) actor, actress
actg
abbreviation of 'acting' (meaning one person, in a temporary capacity, carrying out the duties of another)
Actian games
in Ancient Roman religious tradition, Actia was a festival of Apollo, celebrated at Nicopolis in Epirus, with wrestling, musical contests, horse racing, and sea battles. It was established by Augustus, in commemoration of his victory over Mark Antony off Actium, and was probably the revival of an ancient festival
performing a role in a play or film, also the non-singing action in opera. In ancient Greece the actors who spoke were distinct from the chorus of male singers (3 to 50 in number, led by the choregus), while in ancient Indian and medieval Japanese drama, acting could include singing, dancing or stylized movement
Action
a real or fictional event or series of such events comprising the subject of a novel, story, narrative poem, or a play, especially in the sense of what the characters do in such a narrative
Action
a generic term for the mechanism of various musical instruments, as, for example:
the operation as a piano's keys and hammers against its strings. The complete mechanism which, when the piano keys are struck, causes the hammers to strike the strings of the instrument and provides for the dampening of the sound when the keys are released
it is the height of a string above the finger- or fretboard. In practical terms, it describes how 'easy' such an instrument is to play. When the action is low, the instrument tends to have light strings that lie very close to the fingerboard or frets; consequently, it takes very little effort to press each string down into contact with the fingerboard or frets. An instrument where the action is "high" has its strings further away from the fingerboard or frets. This typically happens when an instrument is strung with heavy gauge strings, where the tension of the heavier strings may actually pull the neck forward. For example, a guitar with "high" action will require more effort on the part of the player to press the strings down onto the neck
applied to wind instruments
the key-mechanism on woodwind instruments
Action
(French f.) a term introduced in the nineteenth century for an opera
(French f.) a general term for any kind of mechanism used in a musical instrument or a technique used on a musical instrument to produce a particular effect
Action
(German f.) action
Action des pieds
(French f.) pedal work (the technique of playing on the pedals of an organ)
Action d'octavier
(French f.) overblowing
Actionfigur
(German f.) action figure
Actionfilm
(German m.) action film, action movie
Actionheld
(German m.) action hero
Actionnaire
(French m./f.) shareholder
Action Stroke Dance Notation
a form of dance notation invented by Iver Cooper, visually similar to Motif notation that is also designed for speed of writing
a form of music in which the actions made by the performer are equally as important as the sounds they produce
Action notation
a musical notation which gives mechanical directions to a musical performer but without giving any indication of the resulting sound - for example, John Cage's 4' 33"
Action-packed
full of action or excitement
Action point
proposal for action
Action replay
playback of part of a television programme, often in slow motion
Action song
songs, often performed by children, where bodily movements are employed to represent the words, for example, flapping the arms to imitate flight, closing the eyes to represent sleep, etc.
(Spanish) to activate, to trigger, to set ... in motion, to speed up (accelerate), to stimulate (economy, production), to give fresh impetus to (negotiations)
activarse
(Spanish) to to off (alarm), to start working (mechanism, device)
Active
when pickups are said to be 'active', they incorporate a pre-amp which requires additional power. The result is a boost and/or wider range for the pickup
Active noise control
(English, German f.) or ANC, an electronic method for reducing or removing unwanted sound by the production of a pressure wave of equal amplitude but opposite sign to the unwanted sound. When the electronically produced inverse wave is added to original unwanted sound the result is sound cancellation
Acoustics FAQ from which this extract has been taken
Active note
a note that has a strong tendency to resolve in a specific direction, for example, the leading note
Active rock
a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in Canada and the United States. While many current artists are played on both active rock and modern rock stations, an active rock station plays a mix of current artists with popular classic rock song
Active rock from which this extract has been taken
Actividad
(Spanish f.) activity
Activismo
(Spanish m.) political activity
Activista
(Spanish m./f.) activist, political activist
Activiste
(French m./f.) activist
Activité
(French f.) activity
Activo
(Spanish m.) assets
activo (m.), activa (f.)
(Spanish) active
Act music
see 'act tune'
Acto
(Spanish m.) act (action, theatre), action, ceremony
Acto de inauguración
(Spanish m.) opening ceremony
Acto impropio
(Spanish m.) uncharacteristic behaviour (out of character), inappropriate behaviour, unsuitable behaviour, unbecoming behaviour
Actor
(Latin) an agent, a doer
Actor (m.), Actress (English f.), Actriz (Spanish f.)
(English, Spanish) performer on the stage or in a film
Actor de teatro
(Spanish m.) stage actor
acto reflejo
(Spanish) reflex action
acto seguido
(Spanish) immediately after
Actress
female parts on the English stage were always taken by boys until the Restoration of Charles II. However, the first women to appear on an English stage probably played the part of Desdemona in Shakespeare's Othello (1604) at a theatre in Clare Market, London (8 December 1606)
Actrice
(French f.) actress
Actriz
(Spanish f.) actress
Act tune
also 'act music' or 'curtain music', music played between the acts of a drama or 'semi-opera as, for example, in The Indian Queen by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) or Venus & Adonis by John Blow (1649-1708)
see entr'acte
Actuación
(Spanish f.) action, intervention, conduct, behaviour, performance (in theatre, on film), concert (recital), acting (in a theatre, on film)
la actuación es pésima (Spanish: the acting is appalling)
actual
(Spanish) present, current (present), topical
Actualidad, Actualidades (pl.)
(Spanish f.) present, present time, , current affairs (plural form), topicality, fashion, relevance
actualiser
(French) to update, to bring up to date
Actualité (s.), Actualités (pl.)
(French f.) topicality, contemporary realism
the word is often used with its article, thus, l'actualité (French: current events) or in its plural form les actualités (French: news, newsreel)
(Spanish) to modernize, to bring ... up to date, to update, to upgrade (software, etc.)
actualmente
(Spanish) now, at the present time, at present, nowadays, these days, at the moment, at present (currently), currently
actuar
(Spanish) to work, to act (theatre, film), to perform (theatre, film)
actuar como
(Spanish) to act as
actuar de
(Spanish) to act as
Actuario
(Spanish m.) clerk of the court, actuary
Acuatizaje
(Spanish m.) landing on water
acuatizar
(Spanish) to land on water
actuel, actuelle
(French) present, topical
actuellement
(French) at the present time
Actus musicus
(Latin, literally 'musical action') a semi-dramatic vocal work, an elaborate form of Lutheran historia, based on a Biblical story (for example, Johann Schelle's Actus musicus auf Weihnachten), a forerunner of the oratorio
actus reus
(Latin) wrongful act, as opposed to mens rea (wrongful intention, guilty mind)
Actus tragicus
J. S. Bach's Cantata BWV 106 (Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit). It doesn't fit into one of the yearly cycles of church cantatas, being a funeral ode. It was probably written when Bach was at Mülhausen, although we do not know whose funeral it was written for. It is characterised by having a tranquil, contemplative atmosphere. The cantata opens with a sonatina, calling for a pair of recorders accompanied by two viola da gambas. The recorders stay in unison most of the time (as they do throughout the entire cantata). A long chorus in several sections (the text is assembled from diverse parts of the bible) follows, with a vivace section in the middle where the two recorders have to play fast arpeggios in unison. A duet between alto and bass follows. The final chorus starts with a Gloria and concludes with a short fugal Amen
¿a cuántos estamos?
(Spanish) what's the date?
Acuarea
(Spanish f.) watercolour
Acuareista
(Spanish m./f.) watercolourist
Acuarela
(Spanish f.) watercolour
Acuario
(Spanish m.) aquarium
(Spanish m.) Aquarius (zodiacal sign)
(Spanish m./f.) Aquarian (astrology: person born under the influence of Aquarius)
acuartelado
(Spanish) quartered (living in barracks, etc.)
Acuartelamiento
(Spanish m.) quartering (barracks, etc.), barracks, confinement to barracks
acuartelar
(Spanish) to quarter (billet), to billet, to confine to barracks
acuático (m.), acuática (f.)
(Spanish) aquatic, water (of or pertaining to water)
acuciador
(Spanish) pressing (urging onward)
acuciar
(Spanish) to urge on, to hasten
acucioso
(Spanish) keen
acuclillarse
(Spanish) to crouch down, to squat down
acuchillado
(Spanish) slashed, stabbed (person)
acuchillar
(Spanish) to slash, to stab (person), to smooth (surface), to plane down (surface)
acuciante
(Spanish) urgent, pressing
acuciar
(Spanish) to urge on
acudir
(Spanish) to go, to come, to arrive, to give help, to aid, to turn to
acudir a
(Spanish) to go to, to arrive for, to attend (something), to attend (reunion), to keep, to go to help, to turn to
Acueducto
(Spanish m.) aqueduct
Acuerdo
(Spanish m.) agreement
Acuerdo de paz
(Spanish m.) peace agreement, accord
Acuidad
(Spanish f.) acuity, sharpness
Acuífero
(Spanish m.) aquifer
acuífero (m.), acuífera (f.)
(Spanish) aquiferous
acuire
(Italian) to sharpen, to whet, to stimulate
Acuité
(French f.) acuteness (pain, etc.), sharpness
Acuity
(from Latin acus, 'needle' and acuere, 'to sharpen') sharpness, acuteness
Aculeo
(Italian m.) sharp point, sting, goad, thorn, prickle, quill (porcupine)
Acume
(Italian m.) acumen, discernment, keenness, intensity, subtlety, penetration
Acumen
(Latin, 'a point, a sting') keen insight or discernment, sharpness, shrewdness, penetration
acuminare
(Italian) to sharpen to a point
Acumulación
(Spanish f.) accumulation
Acumulador
(Spanish m.) accumulator, storage battery
acumulador
(Spanish) accumulative
acumular
(Spanish) to accumulate, to gain (experience)
acumularse
(Spanish) to accumulate, to mount up (debts)
Acuñación
(Spanish f.) minting, coining
acunar
(Spanish) to rock
acuñar
(Spanish) to mint, to coin
acuosidad
(Spanish f.) wateriness
acuoso (m.), acuosa (f.)
(Spanish) watery
Acupuncteur
(French m.) acupuncturist
Acupuncture
(English, French f.) agopuntura (Italian f.), Akupunktur (German f.), acupuntura (Spanish f.), the stimulation of special points on the body, usually by the insertion of fine needles, a system of medical treament originating in the Far East about 2000 years ago
Acupuncture needle
stainless steel needles with silver-plated handles 0.5 to 1 inch long, which are inserted into tissues at those points on the skin surface which are considered relevant to the problem being treated
Acupuntura
(Spanish f.) acupuncture
a cura di ...
(Italian) edited by ...
acurrucarse
(Spanish) to curl up, to snuggle up
Acusación
(Spanish f.) accusation, charge, prosecution
Acusado
(Spanish m.) accused, defendant
acusado (m.), acusada (f.)
(Spanish) accused, marked
Acusador (m.), Acusadora (f.)
(Spanish m.) accuser, prosecuting counsel, prosecutor
acusador (m.) acusadora (f.)
(Spanish) accusing, accusatory
acusar
(Spanish) to accuse, to show, to denounce, to tell on (colloquial)
acusar a ...
(Spanish) to accuse ... of, to charge ...
acusar a ... de ...
(Spanish) to charge ... with ...
acusar recibo
(Spanish) to acknowledge receipt
acusar recibo de ...
(Spanish) to acknowledge receipt of ... (something)
acusarse
(Spanish) to confess, to become marked, to become more pronounced (defects, quirks), to show (figurative)
acusatorio
(Spanish) accusatory
Acuse de recibo
(Spanish m.) acknowledgement of receipt
Acusetas (m./f.), Acusete (m.), Acuseta (f.),
(Spanish) tattletale (person: US colloquial), telltale (person: colloquial)
Acushla
(Irish) or acushla mochree, from a chuisle mo chroi (Irish: O pulse of my heart), darling, a conventional term of endearment
in English, one meets occasionally the form macushla, derived from mo chuisle (Irish: my pulse), although no self-respecting Irishman would use this as a form of address
Acusica
(Spanish m./f.) telltale (familiar)
Acusón
(Spanish m.) telltale
acusón
(Spanish) telltale
Acustica
(Italian f., Spanish f.) acoustics
Acústica (f.)
(Portuguese, Spanish) acoustics
acustico (m.), acustica (f.)
(Italian) acoustic
acústico (m.), acústica (f.)
(Spanish) acoustic
Acuta
a shrill-sounding mixture stop found on the organ
(Italian) acute, shrill
Acutae claves
(Latin) also acuta loca (Latin) or acutae voces (Latin), term formerly used to denote the compass of intervals from the fifth line A of the bass clef to G, the seventh above
Acute
see 'springer'
high, shrill (with reference to pitch)
high sensitivity, for example someone with an acute sense of pitch can discern small discrepancies in tuning
in decribing a problem, fever or disease, 'acute' means 'something that comes and goes quickly', while 'chronic' means 'something that persists'
Acute accent
diacritical mark (´) placed over certain letters in French, Spanish, etc. to show primary stress
(Greek) earliest form of musical notation from the two signs of Greek prosody indicating stress, pitch and length of syllables in the text to be performed; the acutus indicates a rising inflection
) are used to indicate an inflection, where the pitch is first raised and then lowered or an inverted inflection, where the pitch is first lowered and then raised. The accentus anticircumflexus is a modern invention while the other three accents form the basis of the earliest neumatic notation
