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Today it means

piano

a large keyboard musical instrument with hammer-struck strings

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Where does the word "piano" come from? It comes from Italian pianoforte, and was adopted directly into English (1800s).

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Where does the word "piano" come from? It comes from Italian pianoforte, and was adopted directly into English (1800s).

Piano’s story begins in Italian: pianoforte meant “soft-loud, the keyboard instrument.” Literally "soft-loud", describing the instrument's dynamic range. It reached English by 1800s as piano. Shortened from "pianoforte" in everyday use. Today, piano means a large keyboard musical instrument with hammer-struck strings.

  1. Stage 1 · Italian · 1700s pianoforte "soft-loud, the keyboard instrument", literally "soft-loud", describing the instrument's dynamic range.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1800s piano "the keyboard instrument", shortened from "pianoforte" in everyday use.

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