duet

Where does the word "duet" come from? It comes from Italian duetto, and was adopted directly into English (1730s).

Duet’s story begins in Italian: duetto meant “a piece for two performers.” From duo (two), a musical piece for two performers. It reached English by 1730s as duet. Settled as the English word for a piece performed by two. Today, duet means a musical composition or performance for two performers.

1. Stage 1 · Italian · 1600s duetto "a piece for two performers", from duo (two), a musical piece for two performers.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1730s duet "a musical piece performed by two people", settled as the English word for a piece performed by two.