fortissimo

See also: fortíssimo

English

fortissimo in music notation

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian fortissimo.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fɔːˈtɪsɪməʊ/, /fɔːˈtɪsəməʊ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /fɔɹˈtɪsɪmoʊ/, /fɔɹˈtɪsəmoʊ/
• Rhymes: -ɪsɪməʊ, -ɪsəməʊ

Adverb

fortissimo (comparative more fortissimo, superlative most fortissimo)

1. (music) Indicating that the piece is to be played very loudly.

   (abbreviation) ff

   • 2017 September 7, Ferdinand Mount, “Umbrageousness”, in London Review of Books‎^[1]:

     He claims he was doing no more than repeating the standard nationalist account. So he was, but he was also repeating that passionate liberal critique which had resounded, often fortissimo, in British debate when Indian nationalism was still a half-formed dream.

Translations

very loud

• French: fortissimo (fr)
• Hebrew: פוֹרְטִיסִימוֹ (fortísimo)
• Indonesian: fortissimo
• Italian: fortissimo (it)
• Japanese: フォルティッシモ (ja) (forutisshimo)
• Portuguese: fortíssimo (pt)
• Russian: форти́ссимо (ru) (fortíssimo)
• Spanish: fortísimo (es)

Noun

fortissimo (plural fortissimos or fortissimi)

1. (music) The dynamic sign indicating that the piece should be played fortissimo.

Derived terms

• blastissimo
• fortississimo

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔʁ.ti.si.mo/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Adverb

fortissimo

1. (music) fortissimo

Further reading

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

Indonesian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Italian fortissimo.

Adverb

fortissimo

1. (music) fortissimo

   Synonym: diperlambat

Further reading

• “fortissimo”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Italian

Etymology

Inherited from Latin fortissimus. By surface analysis, forte +‎ -issimo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /forˈtis.si.mo/
• Rhymes: -issimo
• Hyphenation: for‧tìs‧si‧mo

Adjective

fortissimo (feminine fortissima, masculine plural fortissimi, feminine plural fortissime)

1. superlative degree of forte
2. (music) Very loud
3. very strong, bright, tough or severe

Derived terms

• fortissimamente

Adverb

fortissimo

1. superlative degree of forte

Antonyms

• pianissimo

Further reading

• “fortissimo”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

Latin

Adjective

fortissimō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of fortissimus

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• ff (abbreviation)

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian fortissimo (“strongest, very strong”).

Adverb

fortissimo

1. (music) fortissimo

Noun

fortissimo m (definite singular fortissimoen, indefinite plural fortissimoer, definite plural fortissimoene)

1. (music) a fortissimo

References

• “fortissimo” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• ff (abbreviation)

Etymology

Borrowed rom Italian fortissimo (“strongest, very strong”).

Adverb

fortissimo

1. (music) fortissimo

Noun

fortissimo m (definite singular fortissimoen, indefinite plural fortissimoar, definite plural fortissimoane)

1. (music) a fortissimo

References

• “fortissimo” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Italian fortissimo.

Adverb

fortissimo

1. fortissimo

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian fortissimo.

Adverb

fortissimo (not comparable)

1. (music) fortissimo (very loudly)

Noun

fortissimo n

1. (music) fortissimo (passage to be played very loudly)

Declension

Declension of fortissimo

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	fortissimo	fortissimos
	definite	fortissimot	fortissimots
plural	indefinite	fortissimon	fortissimons
	definite	fortissimona	fortissimonas

Further reading

• “fortissimo”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “fortissimo”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “fortissimo”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)