largo

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian largo (“broad, broadly; slow”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} used as a musical direction from the beginning of the 17th century,^[2] from Latin largus (“abundant, copious; generous”).^[3][7][4][8] The Latin adjective is also the source of large.^[6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a musical direction, in slow time and broadly: 1683, in the preface to Henry Purcell's Sonnata's of III Parts.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

From the direction the word soon became the name of a movement or piece played in this way (1702),^[2] a sense Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates to about 1753.^[4] As an adjective, slow and dignified, it is recorded from 1795, and it is also used figuratively.^[2] The American Heritage Dictionary describes the tempo as usually slower than adagio.^[3]

Timeline

• 1683 – musical direction, slowly and broadly.^[2][4]
• 1702 – a movement or passage played largo.^[2]
• 1795 – adjective, slow and dignified.^[2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. (music) In a very slow tempo and with a broad, dignified style; used as a direction.^[3][8][4]

Adjective

1. (music) Slow and dignified, or marked to be played in this way.^[3][2]

Noun

1. (music) A movement or passage played largo.^[3][8][4]

Related words

• large

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins