a cappella

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English[edit]

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Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Italian alla cappella (“in the manner of the [Sistine] chapel”), referring to non-instrumental choirs; from Latin a-, ad, "to", + cappella, "chapel".

Pronunciation[edit]

Adverb[edit]

a cappella (not comparable)

  1. (music) In a manner of a choir with no instrumental accompaniment; literally, "in the style of the (Sistine) Chapel (in Rome)", such as a musical Mass done a cappella. [First attested in the late 19th century.][1]
    Groups of teens singing a cappella on street corners got recording contracts.
  2. (obsolete, music) In alla breve time.

Translations[edit]

Adjective[edit]

a cappella (not comparable)

  1. (music) Singing solely or mainly without instrumental accompaniment. [First attested in the late 19th century.][1]
    An a cappella group sang during the wedding reception.
  2. (music, US) Related to a form of purely vocal music mostly associated with American college performance groups.
    • 2012. Powerful Voices. Joshua S. Duchan.
      Socially, a cappella groups tend to be tight-knit ensembles in which close interpersonal relationships are formed.
  3. (obsolete, music) alla breve.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Brown, Lesley, ed. The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. 5th. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Italian[edit]

Adverb[edit]

a cappella

  1. (music) a cappella

Portuguese[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Italian a cappella.

Adverb[edit]

a cappella (not comparable)

  1. (music) a cappella (performed by a choir with no instrumental accompaniment)

Spanish[edit]

Adverb[edit]

a cappella

  1. a cappella
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