concerto

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian concerto,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} which in Italian denoted a composition for one or more solo instruments and orchestra before 1647, a specialized sense of the same Italian word meaning a concert.^[2] The Italian noun is derived from the verb concertare (“to bring into agreement, harmonize”),^{[4][5][7][8][9]} and is also the source, through French concert, of concert.^[10][11] The verb is generally traced to Latin concertō (“to contend zealously, dispute, debate”),^[3][11][10] formed from con- (“with”) and certō (“to contend, strive”), a frequentative of cernō (“to separate, distinguish, decide”), from Proto-Indo-European *krei- (“to sieve”).^[3][11] Etymonline finds the change of meaning from "contend" to "bring into agreement" hard to explain,^[3] while Ayto suggests that in post-classical Latin the verb came to mean "to strive together, in cooperation";^[10] the OED records post-classical Latin senses "to strive alongside or together with".^[2] Klein rejected the Latin verb because the meanings are too far apart; he derived the Italian word from concentō (“to sing together”), formed from the same prefix and cantō (“to sing”), with a change of consonant by dissimilation.^[12] Hoad calls the origin of the Italian verb obscure.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A musical composition for one or more solo instruments accompanied by an orchestra: 1710, in a list of books in the Monthly Masks of Vocal Musick.^[2] Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1703,^[13] Dictionary.com to 1720–30,^[9] and Etymonline and Barnhart to 1730, when it appeared as an Italian word in an English work on music.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

Earlier composers applied the word to various combinations of instruments and forms,^[14][6] and Merriam-Webster records a 16th- and 17th-century type of composition for one or more solo voices or instruments with organ or orchestral accompaniment, also called a church concerto.^[13] The concerto grosso, in which a small group of soloists alternates with the full orchestra, is recorded from 1724.^[3][13] Since the late 18th century the typical concerto has been a piece in three movements for a solo instrument and orchestra,^[2][6] usually in sonata or symphonic form and often with a cadenza.^[14][15][13] The diminutive concertino meant the principal instruments in a concerto from 1819, and a short concerto from 1857.^[3] The plural concerti follows the Italian plural, beside English concertos.^[2][15]

Timeline

• 1703 – a composition for solo voices or instruments with accompaniment.^[13]
• 1710 – a composition for solo instrument and orchestra.^[2] Etymonline and Barnhart date the word to 1730.^[3][4]
• 1724 – concerto grosso.^[3]
• 1819 – concertino, the principal instruments of a concerto.^[3]
• 1857 – concertino, a short concerto.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A musical composition for one or more soloists and orchestra, usually in three movements and often with a cadenza: She played a Mozart concerto with the city orchestra.^[15][13][2]
2. (historical) A 16th- or 17th-century composition for one or more solo voices or instruments with organ or orchestral accompaniment.^[13][6]
3. Short for concerto grosso.^[13]

Related words

• concerto grosso
• concert
• concertina
• concertante
• disconcert
• certain
• concern

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
10. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
11. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
12. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
13. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
14. ^ a b The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers
15. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins