allegro

Where does the word "allegro" come from? It comes from Italian allegro, and was adopted directly into English (1700s).

Allegro’s story begins in Italian: allegro meant “cheerful, lively.” Literally cheerful, lively, adopted as a musical tempo marking. It reached English by 1700s as allegro. Italian for 'cheerful, lively'; the tempo sense came from Italian sonata movements. Today, allegro means a fast, lively musical tempo, or a piece played at that tempo.

1. Stage 1 · Italian · 1600s allegro "cheerful, lively", literally cheerful, lively, adopted as a musical tempo marking.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1700s allegro "a fast, lively musical tempo", Italian for 'cheerful, lively'; the tempo sense came from Italian sonata movements.