allegro
UK[əˈleɡrəʊ]US[əˈleɡroʊ]
adv
(of a piece of music) to be played in a quick, lively tempo
adj
(of a piece of music) quick and lively in tempo
n
a piece of music, or a passage in a piece of music, that is played in a quick, lively tempo
Etymology
the word 'allegro' entered english directly from italian in the early 18th century, specifically from the vocabulary of musical instruction. in italian, 'allegro' means 'lively, cheerful, brisk,' a meaning it developed from its latin ancestor 'alacer,' meaning 'brisk, active, lively.' this latin term is traced back to the proto-indo-european root h₂el- ('to grow, nourish'), which also gives rise to words related to vitality and growth. the musical term was adopted to describe a brisk tempo, capturing the essence of liveliness and cheerful energy in performance. thus, the journey from an ancient root connoting growth to a modern musical directive illustrates how a concept of vitality was specialized within the artistic lexicon.
Analysis
this word is a direct loanword from italian and is not productively segmented using english morphemes. it functions as a whole unit.
Examples
the final movement of the sonata is marked allegro.
the orchestra played the allegro section with great energy and precision.
he practiced the difficult allegro until his fingers could fly across the keys.