pianoforte

Forms

pianoforte m (plural pianoforti)^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from Italian piano (“softly”) + forte (“loudly”), because the instrument could play both soft and loud.^[2][3][4] Its inventor, Bartolomeo Cristofori of Padua, called it a clavicembalo (or gravecembalo) col piano e forte, a harpsichord with soft and loud, a name made known by Scipione Maffei in the Giornale de’ letterati d’Italia in 1711.^[2][5][6] Migliorini notes that an instrument called piano e forte was already listed in an Este inventory of 1598.^[2][6]

The short form piano in the sense “pianoforte” probably reached Italian from French, where it is recorded from 1798.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record of pianoforte as one word is in D'Alberti's dictionary of 1771, under manichordion, for a keyboard instrument whose metal strings are struck by small hammers.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Treccani describes the instrument as born at the very end of the 17th century from the fusion of harpsichord and clavichord.^[7] Tommaseo, in the 19th century, recorded the rival claims of Cristofori and of the organist Schröter of Nordhausen to its invention.^[8] The variant pianforte (Petrocchi, 1891) is regional, and fortepiano was also used in the 19th century, for example by Rossini.^[5][7]

From the instrument came pianista (1826, Lichtenthal) and pianistico (1887).^[2] The word also names, in the navy, the set of hand controls for water and compressed air in a submarine.^[4][9]

The word spread to other languages: French piano-forte (1771, with piano et forte in 1766), German Pianoforte (1767) and English pianoforte.^[10][11] English piano is recorded from 1772.^[10]

Timeline

• 1598 – An Este inventory lists an instrument called piano e forte.^[2][6]
• 1711 – Scipione Maffei reports Cristofori's gravecembalo col piano e forte.^[5][6]
• 1741 – English piano-forte is recorded, according to DIFIT.^[10][11] Etymonline dates pianoforte to 1767.^[10][11]
• 1767 – German Pianoforte is recorded.^[10]
• 1771 – D'Alberti's dictionary records pianoforte.^[2][4]
• 1772 – English piano is recorded.^[10]
• 1798 – French piano is recorded.^[2]
• 1826 – Lichtenthal uses pianista and notes that the French say piano.^[2]
• 1831 – Piano for “pianoforte” appears in the Milanese press.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (music) The piano: a keyboard instrument whose metal strings, in a wooden soundbox, are struck by hammers worked by the keys: pianoforte a coda (grand piano), pianoforte verticale (upright piano).^[4][9][12]
2. The technique of playing the piano, as a subject of study: Studia pianoforte al conservatorio.^[9][12][13]
3. (navy) In a submarine, the set of hand controls for the water and compressed-air manoeuvres.^[4][9][14]

Word family

• pianista
• pianistico
• pianofortino

Related words

• piano
• forte
• fortepiano
• clavicembalo
• English pianoforte

Usage notes

The short form piano is common.^[4][14] Pianoforte preparato is a piano with objects placed between its strings to change the sound, used in contemporary music.^[9][12]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
6. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
8. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b c d e f Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
11. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
14. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse