alto

See also: ältõ, Alto, and alto-

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian alto (“high”). Doublet of old.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈæl.təʊ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈæl.toʊ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æltəʊ

Noun

alto (plural altos or alti)

An alto saxophone

1. A musical part or section higher than tenor and lower than soprano, formerly the part that performed a countermelody above the tenor or main melody.
2. A person or musical instrument that performs the alto part.
3. (colloquial, music) An alto saxophone.

Usage notes

• Nouns often modified by "alto": saxophone, clarinet, flute, recorder, part, solo, voice, singer.

Synonyms

• (musical part or section): contratenor altus, high countertenor

Coordinate terms

• (music) SATB (initialism of soprano, alto, tenor, bass)

Derived terms

• alto clarinet
• alto clef
• alto cliff
• alto flute
• alto horn
• altoist
• alto recorder
• alto sax

Translations

musical part

• Arabic: ألتو
• Armenian: ալտ (hy) (alt)
• Bulgarian: алт m (alt)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 中音 (zh) (zhōngyīn)

• Czech: alt (cs) m
• Dutch: alt (nl)
• Finnish: altto (fi)
• French: alto (fr) m
• Georgian: ალტო (alṭo)
• German: Alt (de) m
• Greek: κοντράλτο (el) (kontrálto)
• Hungarian: alt (hu) (usually used for contralto)
• Irish: alt m, cuach f
• Japanese: アルト (ja) (aruto)
• Korean: 알토 (alto), 여성저음(女聲低音) (yeoseongjeo'eum), 녀성저음(女聲低音) (ko) (nyeoseongjeo'eum) (North Korea)
• Maori: reo pekerangi
• Polish: alt (pl) m
• Portuguese: contralto (pt) m
• Russian: альт (ru) m (alʹt)
• Spanish: alto (es) m or f, contralto (es) m or f
• Swedish: alt (sv) c
• Ukrainian: альт (uk) (alʹt)

person or instrument

• Armenian: ալտ (hy) (alt)
• Bulgarian: алт m (alt)
• Czech: alt (cs) m
• Dutch: alt (nl)
• Finnish: altto (fi)
• German: Alt (de) m
• Hawaiian: leo wahine (person), ʻaeko (instrument)
• Italian: contralto (it) m
• Japanese: アルト (ja) (aruto)
• Korean: 알토 (alto)
• Maori: kaiwaiata pekerangi (person/singer)
• Polish: alt (pl) m, alcista (pl) m, alcistka (pl) f, altysta (pl) m, altystka (pl) f
• Portuguese: contralto (pt) m
• Russian: альт (ru) m (alʹt)
• Swedish: alt (sv) c
• Vietnamese: người hát giọng nữ trầm (person), đàn antô (instrument), kèn antô

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} алт (alt)
• French: ^{(please verify)} alto (fr)
• Hungarian: ^{(please verify)} alt (hu)
• Slovene: ^{(please verify)} alt (sl) m
• Vietnamese: (?) ^{(please verify)} bè antô (vi)

Further reading

• alto on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• ATOL, Toal, a lot, alot, atlo-, lota, talo-, tola

Aragonese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin altus, ultimately of Proto-Indo-European origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈalto/
• Syllabification: al‧to
• Rhymes: -alto

Adjective

alto (feminine alta, masculine plural altos, feminine plural altas, superlative altismo)

1. tall

   Antonym: baixo

   ixas zagalas son altas. ― Those girls are tall.

2. high

   Antonym: baixo

   ye un numero alto. ― It's a high number.

3. loud

   En voz alta. ― Out loud.

   alto y claro ― loud and clear

4. upper, top

Noun

alto m

1. height (in measurements)

Adverb

alto

1. up, high, highly
2. above, over

   Impresionant o trazau per alto des monts

   The layout above the mountains is impressive.

3. loudly

   parlar alto

   to talk loudly

Asturian

Adjective

alto n sg

1. neuter singular of altu

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from German halt. Compare Spanish alto and Portuguese alto.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Interjection

alto!

1. stop!, halt!

   alto el foc! ― cease fire!

Noun

alto m (plural altos)

1. break, rest stop

   fer (un) alto ― make a stop

Derived terms

• alto el foc
• donar l'alto

Dutch

Etymology

Clipping of alternatieveling or alternatief +‎ -o.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑl.toː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: al‧to

Noun

alto m (plural alto's, no diminutive)

1. (Netherlands, derogatory) someone who participates in an alternative subculture (e.g. a hipster, emo or punk)

   Synonyms: alternatieveling, alternativo

Esperanto

Etymology

alta +‎ -o.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈalto/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -alto
• Hyphenation: al‧to

Noun

alto (accusative singular alton, plural altoj, accusative plural altojn)

1. height; elevation; altitude
   • (Can we date this quote?), Vladimír Váňa (translator), Aventuroj de la Brava Soldato Ŝvejk dum la Mondmilito (The Good Soldier Švejk) by Jaroslav Hašek, Part 1, Chapter 15,

     Pri kio morgaŭ prelegi al unujaraj volontuloj en la lernejo? Ĉu pri tio, kiel ni difinas la alton de monteto? Kial ni mezuras la alton ĉiam de la marnivelo? Kiel el altoj super la marnivelo elkalkuli propran alton de la monteto ekde ĝia piedo?

     What should he lecture on to the volunteers in the school tomorrow? How do we determined the height of a given hill? Why do we reckon the height from sea level? How can we establish from its height above sea level the height of a mountain from its foot? (Cecil Parrott translation, Heinemann, 1973)

   • (Can we date this quote?), Sergio Pokrovskij (translator), La Majstro kaj Margarita (The Master and Margarita) by Mikhail Bulgakov, Book Two, Chapter 24,

     [...] la peza fenestra kurteno ŝoviĝis flanken, la fenestro larĝe malfermiĝis kaj en la fora alto vidiĝis la plena [...] luno.

     [...] the heavy curtain over the window was pushed aside, the window opened wide, and high above (lit. in the distant height) appeared the full moon.

See also

• alteco

French

(violon) alto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /al.to/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

Noun

alto m (plural altos)

1. (music) alto
2. (music) ellipsis of violon alto; viola

Descendants

• → Persian: آلتو (âlto)

Further reading

• “alto”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese alto, from Latin altus. This form is probably semi-learned or influenced by learned orthography, as with Portuguese alto and Spanish alto. Cf. also the now archaic form outo, which was probably popularly inherited from an unattested hypothetical *outo, present also in place names as Montouto (“High-hill”), from the same Latin word (compare also Old Spanish oto).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈalto/ [ˈɑl̪.t̪ʊ]
• Rhymes: -alto
• Hyphenation: al‧to

Adjective

alto (feminine alta, masculine plural altos, feminine plural altas)

1. tall
2. high

   Antonym: baixo

3. (nautical) deep

Derived terms

• altura

Related terms

• alzar

Noun

alto m (plural altos)

1. top; high place

Adverb

alto

1. high

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “alto”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “alto”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “alto”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “alto”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “alto”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Ingrian

Alto.

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *alto. Cognates include Finnish aalto (dialectal alto) and dialectal Estonian ald.

Pronunciation

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈɑlto/, [ˈɑɫtŏ̞̥]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈɑlto/, [ˈɑɫd̥o̞]
• (Hevaha) IPA^(key): /ˈɑlto/, [ˈɑɫd̥o̞]
• Rhymes: -ɑlto
• Hyphenation: al‧to

Noun

alto

1. wave

Declension

Declension of alto (type 4/koivu, lt-ll gradation)
	singular	plural
nominative	alto	allot
genitive	allon	altoin, altoloin
partitive	altoa	altoja, altoloja
illative	altoo	altoi, altoloihe
inessive	alloos	allois, altolois
elative	allost	alloist, altoloist
allative	allolle	alloille, altoloille
adessive	allool	alloil, altoloil
ablative	allolt	alloilt, altoloilt
translative	alloks	alloiks, altoloiks
essive	altonna, altoon	altoinna, altoloinna, altoin, altoloin
exessive1)	altont	altoint, altoloint
1) obsolete *) the accusative corresponds with either the genitive (sg) or nominative (pl) **) the comitative is formed by adding the suffix -ka? or -kä? to the genitive.

Synonyms

• laine

References

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971), Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 11
• Arvo Laanest (1997), Isuri keele Hevaha murde sõnastik, Eesti Keele Instituut, page 19

Istriot

Etymology

From Latin altus (“high”), from Proto-Italic *altos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós, derived from the root *h₂el- (“to grow, nourish”).

Adjective

alto

1. high

References

• 2015, Sandro Cergna, Vocabolario del dialetto di Valle d'Istria, →ISBN, page 24:

Italian

Etymology

From Latin altus (“high”), from Proto-Italic *altos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós, derived from the root *h₂el- (“to grow, nourish”). Cognate with English old and Welsh allt.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈal.to/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -alto
• Hyphenation: àl‧to

Adjective

alto (feminine alta, masculine plural alti, feminine plural alte, superlative altissimo)

1. high, tall

   Antonym: basso

   L'uomo alto è mio padre. ― The tall man is my father.

2. deep

   uno stagno alto 4 metri ― a pond 4 meters deep

3. loud

   ad alta voce ― in a loud voice

Derived terms

• altamente
• altimetro
• Alto Adige
• Alto Volta
• altocumulo
• altolocato
• altopiano
• altostrato
• altura

Related terms

• altare
• altezza
• altisonante
• altitonante
• altitudine
• alzare

Descendants

• → English: alto
• → German: Alt

Further reading

• alto in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• lato, talo

Kapampangan

Alternative forms

• altao (obsolete, Spanish orthography)
• altau (archaic)
• altaw (archaic, Súlat Wáwâ)

Etymology

From earlier altau, metathesis from Proto-Philippine *lətaw. Compare Tagalog litaw and Cebuano lutaw.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əlˈto/ [əlˈtoː]
• Hyphenation: al‧to

Verb

altó

1. to float

   Synonyms: gato, lutang

Derived terms

• ipalto
• lalto
• mayalto
• palto
• pepalto

Adjective

altó

1. visible; obvious; evident; apparent

   Synonyms: lunto, lutang

Ladino

Etymology

From Latin altus.

Adjective

alto (feminine alta, masculine plural altos, feminine plural altas)

1. high

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈaɫ.toː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈal.to]

Etymology 1

From altus (“high, deep”) +‎ -ō.

Verb

altō (present infinitive altāre); first conjugation, no perfect or supine stems

1. to make high, raise, elevate

Conjugation

   Conjugation of altō (first conjugation, no perfect or supine stems)

indicative		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	altō		altās		altat		altāmus		altātis		altant
	imperfect	altābam		altābās		altābat		altābāmus		altābātis		altābant
	future	altābō		altābis		altābit		altābimus		altābitis		altābunt
passive	present	altor		altāris, altāre		altātur		altāmur		altāminī		altantur
	imperfect	altābar		altābāris, altābāre		altābātur		altābāmur		altābāminī		altābantur
	future	altābor		altāberis, altābere		altābitur		altābimur		altābiminī		altābuntur
subjunctive		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	altem		altēs		altet		altēmus		altētis		altent
	imperfect	altārem		altārēs		altāret		altārēmus		altārētis		altārent
passive	present	alter		altēris, altēre		altētur		altēmur		altēminī		altentur
	imperfect	altārer		altārēris, altārēre		altārētur		altārēmur		altārēminī		altārentur
imperative		singular						plural
		first		second		third		first		second		third
active	present	—		altā		—		—		altāte		—
	future	—		altātō		altātō		—		altātōte		altantō
passive	present	—		altāre		—		—		altāminī		—
	future	—		altātor		altātor		—		—		altantor
non-finite forms		infinitive						participle
		active			passive			active			passive
present		altāre			altārī			altāns			—
future		—			—			—			altandus
verbal nouns		gerund								supine
		genitive		dative		accusative		ablative		accusative		ablative
		altandī		altandō		altandum		altandō		—		—

Derived terms

• inaltō

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

altō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of altus

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Participle

altō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of altus

References

• “alto”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "alto", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “alto”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[2], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) the tide is coming in: aestus ex alto se incitat (B. G. 3.12)
    
  • (ambiguous) the storm drives some one on an unknown coast: procella (tempestas) aliquem ex alto ad ignotas terras (oras) defert
    
  • (ambiguous) to make fast boats to anchors: naves (classem) constituere (in alto)
    

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈaw.tu/ [ˈaʊ̯.tu]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈaw.tu/ [ˈaʊ̯.tu]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈaw.to/ [ˈaʊ̯.to]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈal.tu/ [ˈaɫ.tu]

• (Rural Central Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈaw.tʷ/

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Homophone: auto (Brazil)
• Rhymes: (Portugal) -altu, (Brazil) -awtu
• Hyphenation: al‧to

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese alto, from Latin altus, ultimately of Proto-Indo-European origin. This form is likely a semi-learned term, or was influenced by learned elements of the language and uses such an orthography, as with Galician and Spanish alto (which have popularly inherited variants outo and oto, respectively). There was once likely an *outo in Old Galician-Portuguese that is not attested, but which left an inherited descendant in Galician. See also outeiro, a related word.

Adjective

alto (feminine alta, masculine plural altos, feminine plural altas, comparable, comparative mais alto, superlative o mais alto or altíssimo, diminutive altinho, augmentative altão)

1. loud
2. tall
3. high
4. (informal) excessive, extreme

Derived terms

• altamente
• altão (augmentative)
• altinho (diminutive)
• altíssimo (superlative)
• altura
• enaltecer

Related terms

• alçar
• altitude

Adverb

alto (comparable, comparative mais alto, superlative o mais alto)

1. loud; loudly
   • 2003, J. K. Rowling, translated by Lia Wyler, Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fênix [Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix] (Harry Potter; 5), Rio de Janeiro: Rocco, →ISBN, page 445:

     Não fale tão alto...

     Don't speak so loud...

Descendants

• Kabuverdianu: altu

Etymology 2

From German halt, imperative form of German halten (“stop”).

Interjection

alto!

1. halt!

See also

• alto lá!

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈalto/ [ˈal̪.t̪o]
• Rhymes: -alto
• Syllabification: al‧to

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin altus, ultimately of Proto-Indo-European origin. The form alto represents a pronunciation influenced by the most learned layers of the language, and is not the normal phonetic result expected in a naturally inherited word. Cf. the now archaic form oto, which was used more often in Old Spanish and is the form of the word that was completely popularly inherited, preserved in some toponyms/placenames, and its derivative otear and the rare or regional otar. Compare also archaic Galician outo (versus the standard alto today). See also the related Spanish otero (and Portuguese outeiro).

Adjective

alto (feminine alta, masculine plural altos, feminine plural altas, superlative altísimo)

1. tall

   Antonym: bajo

   Esas chicas son altas. ― Those girls are tall.

2. high

   Antonym: bajo

   Es un número alto. ― It's a high number.

   • 2015 August 11, Hope King, “Verizon quiere hacer que el internet sea 1.000 veces más rápido”, in CNN en Español‎^[3]:

     Una película de dos horas en alta definición tardaría 8 segundos en descargarse, 100 estudiantes podrían descargar un libro de texto en dos segundos simultáneamente, y subir 1.000 fotos también tomaría alrededor de dos segundos, dice Verizon.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2025 July 8, Elisabeth Buchwald, “Trump anuncia nuevo arancel del 50 % a las importaciones de cobre”, in CNN en Español‎^[4]:

     En febrero, Trump ordenó una investigación bajo la Sección 232 sobre las importaciones de cobre, amparado en una ley que le otorga autoridad para imponer aranceles más altos por motivos de seguridad nacional.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. loud

   En voz alta. ― Out loud.

   alto y claro ― loud and clear

4. upper, top
5. senior (rank)

Derived terms

• Alta Austria
• Alta California
• alta costura
• alta danza
• Alta Edad Media
• alta fidelidad
• alta gama
• alta mar
• alta montaña
• alta tecnología
• alta tensión
• alta traición
• altamente
• altas esferas
• altas horas
• altear
• alteza
• altibajo
• altillo
• altísimo
• altivo
• alto alemán
• alto alemán medio
• alto cargo
• alto directivo
• alto ejecutivo
• alto el fuego
• alto funcionario
• Alto Garona
• alto horno
• Alto Loira
• alto mando
• Alto Perú
• Alto Rin
• Alto Saona
• altoandino
• altoaragonés
• altorrelieve
• Altos Alpes
• Altos Días Santos
• altos y bajos
• altura
• be alta
• cañuela alta
• casa de altos
• clase alta
• comillas altas
• cuello alto
• de alto abajo
• de altos vuelos
• en alto
• en alto grado
• enaltecer
• escuela alta
• lo alto
• marea alta
• Palo Alto
• pasar por alto
• por alto
• por todo lo alto
• sombrero de copa alta
• temporada alta
• tierras altas

Related terms

• altitud
• alzar

Noun

alto m (plural altos)

1. height (in measurements)

Adverb

alto

1. up, high, highly
2. loudly

   gritar alto

   scream loudly

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German halt.

Noun

Stop sign of Mexico

alto m (plural altos)

1. stop, halt
2. break, pause, rest
3. (traffic) stop (signal)
4. (traffic) red light

   Antonym: siga

Derived terms

• alto el fuego
• dar el alto
• hacer un alto
• marcar el alto

Interjection

¡alto!

1. halt!; stop!

Further reading

• “alto”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

Tagalog

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈʔalto/ [ˈʔal.t̪o]
• Rhymes: -alto
• Syllabification: al‧to

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish alto, from German halt.

Interjection

alto! (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜎ᜔ᜆᜓ)

1. halt!

   Synonyms: tigil, hinto, para

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Spanish alto, from Italian alto, from Latin altus. Doublet of alta.

Noun

alto (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜎ᜔ᜆᜓ) (music)

1. alto (musical part)
2. alto (person or instrument)

Related terms

• alta

See also

• baho
• baritono
• kontralto
• soprano
• tenor

Further reading

• “Alto!”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2025
• “alto”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2025
• “alto”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018.
• Cuadrado Muñiz, Adolfo (1972), Hispanismos en el tagalo: diccionario de vocablos de origen español vigentes en esta lengua filipina, Madrid: Oficina de Educación Iberoamericana, page 28