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Today it means

vivace

a musical direction to play in a lively, brisk manner

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Where does the word "vivace" come from? It comes from Italian vivace, and was adopted directly into English (1740s).

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Where does the word "vivace" come from? It comes from Italian vivace, and was adopted directly into English (1740s).

Vivace’s story begins in Italian: vivace meant “lively, vivacious.” Literally lively, vivacious, from Latin vivax (lively, long-lived). It reached English by 1740s as vivace. Italian 'lively'. Today, vivace means a musical direction to play in a lively, brisk manner.

  1. Stage 1 · Italian · 1700s vivace "lively, vivacious", literally lively, vivacious, from Latin vivax (lively, long-lived).
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1740s vivace "a fast, lively musical tempo", Italian 'lively'.

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