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Where does the word "mezzo" come from? It comes from Italian mezzo, and was adopted directly into English (1800s).
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Where does the word "mezzo" come from? It comes from Italian mezzo, and was adopted directly into English (1800s).
Mezzo’s story begins in Italian: mezzo meant “half, middle.” Literally half, middle, describing a voice or dynamic between two extremes. It reached English by 1800s as mezzo. Italian 'middle', from Latin 'medius'. Today, mezzo means moderately, or describing a vocal range between soprano and contralto.
- Stage 1 · Italian · 1700s mezzo "half, middle", literally half, middle, describing a voice or dynamic between two extremes.
- Stage 2 · English · 1800s mezzo "a middle vocal range, as in mezzo-soprano", Italian 'middle', from Latin 'medius'.