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Where does the word "diminuendo" come from? It comes from Italian diminuendo, and was adopted directly into English (1780s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "diminuendo" come from? It comes from Italian diminuendo, and was adopted directly into English (1780s).
Diminuendo’s story begins in Italian: diminuendo meant “diminishing, decreasing.” Literally diminishing, a gradual decrease in volume. It reached English by 1780s as diminuendo. Italian 'diminishing', the opposite of crescendo. Today, diminuendo means a musical direction to gradually decrease in volume.
- Stage 1 · Italian · 1700s diminuendo "diminishing, decreasing", literally diminishing, a gradual decrease in volume.
- Stage 2 · English · 1780s diminuendo "a gradual decrease in loudness", Italian 'diminishing', the opposite of crescendo.