concerto

Forms

concerto m (plural concerti)^[1]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun of concertare (“to arrange together; to harmonize”).^[2][3][4][1] That verb is borrowed from Latin concertō (“to contend, dispute”), formed from cum (“with”) and certō (“to contend”), the intensive of cernō (“to separate, decide”).^[2][3] In Latin the verb already meant “to plot, arrange”, and DEI notes the sense “to work in agreement” in the Old Latin Bible, the Itala.^[3][5] DELI mentions another view, by Robert A. Hall, that the Italian verb was formed from certo (“certain”).^[2]

In the 19th century Tommaseo's collaborator Rossi rejected the derivations from Latin concinō (“to sing together”) and, from cōnserō (“to join”), and explained the musical word by the contest between the parts of a polyphonic piece.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The sense “agreement, pact” is first recorded in Annibal Caro, before 1566.^[2][4] DIFIT, following the music lexicon LESMU, has a musical sense earlier, in 1555: a performance of music in several parts, vocal or instrumental.^[7]

Semantic evolution

G. B. Marino uses the word in 1623 for music in which several voices or instruments sing or play together, and DIFIT dates the sense “a group of singers or players” to 1624.^[2][7] The modern sense “a musical performance by several singers or players” is recorded in 1794, and the composition for soloist and orchestra in 1800.^[2][7] The old sense “agreement” lasted into the 19th century: Manzoni has “Con lui prenderò i concerti opportuni” (“with him I will make the proper arrangements”), and it survives in the phrase di concerto, “in agreement”.^[4][8][9]

The Italian word went abroad with Italian music.^[7] French borrowed it as concert (1560 “agreement”, 1608 a group of singers or players), and again as concerto (1739) for the composition;^[7][3] Spanish concierto first meant “meeting”.^[7][3] English has concerto from 1730 and concerto grosso from 1724, while its concert came from French, and German had Konzert by 1619.^[7]

Timeline

• 1555 – First musical use, for a performance in several parts.^[7]
• Before 1566 – Annibal Caro uses concerto for an agreement.^[2]
• 1560 – French concert is recorded.^[7]
• 1619 – German Konzert is recorded.^[7]
• 1623 – Marino uses it for music by several voices or instruments together.^[2]
• 1724 – English concerto grosso is recorded.^[7]
• 1730 – English concerto is recorded.^[7]
• 1794 – The sense “a musical performance” is recorded.^[2]
• 1800 – The sense “a composition for soloist and orchestra” is recorded.^[7]
• 1831 – Concertista appears in the Milanese press.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (music) A concert: a public performance of music: Sabato andiamo al concerto di un gruppo jazz.^[4][10][11]
2. (music) A concerto: a composition in several movements for one or more soloists and orchestra: un concerto per pianoforte.^[4][12][9]
3. (music, historical) In the 17th and 18th centuries, a polyphonic composition.^[4][12]
4. A group of singers or players performing together.^[4][12][11]
5. (by extension, often humorous) A mass of sounds or voices: un concerto di grilli.^[4][9]
6. (literary) Agreement, understanding.^[4][10][9]
7. (bureaucratic) Cooperation between public bodies on a common matter.^[4][9]

Word family

• concertista
• concertino
• concertismo
• concertistico

Related words

• concertare
• sconcertare
• sconcerto
• French concert
• English concerto

Usage notes

Di concerto means “in agreement, jointly”.^[10][9] In concerto, said of a singer or band performing live, is modelled on English in concert.^[11] Concerto grosso is a composition in which a small group of soloists alternates with the full string orchestra.^[10][9]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1044
6. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
8. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 3
9. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse