Mezzo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

mezzo is the Italian word for "half", "middle" or "medium." mezza is the feminine equivalent. It is pronounced /ˈmɛtso/ in English, but /ˈmɛddzo/ in Italian.

In music, mezzo is the beginning of various Italian musical terms

• Mezzo-soprano, a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices
• Mezzo forte ("medium-loud") and mezzo piano ("medium-quiet"), musical terms for dynamics, see dynamics (music)
• Mezzo carattere, in opera, a character who is part-serious, part comic
• Mezzo legato and mezzo staccato, articulation halfway between legato and staccato

Abbreviation of mezzosoprano

From Latin medius, whence also Italian medio (a borrowed doublet).

Noun[edit]

mezzo m (plural mezzi)

1. half, middle
2. means, method

Adjective[edit]

mezzo m (feminine mezza, masculine plural mezzi, feminine plural mezze)

1. half

Source: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mezzo