alto
pronunciation
How to pronounce alto in British English:
UK [ˈæltəʊ]
How to pronounce alto in American English:
US [ˈæltoʊ]
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- Noun:
- a singer whose voice lies in the alto clef
- the lowest female singing voice
- the highest adult male singing voice
- the pitch range of the lowest female voice
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- Adjective:
- of or being the lowest female voice
- of or being the highest male voice; having a range above that of tenor
- (of a musical instrument) second highest member of a group
Word Origin
- alto (n.)
- 1784, "man with an alto voice," from Italian alto (canto), from Latin altus "high" (see old). Originally a "high" man's voice, now more commonly applied to the lower range of women's voices (which is more strictly the contralto), an extension first recorded in 1881. The alto in a man is totally distinct from the contralto in a woman. The tone is utterly different -- the best notes of the one are certainly not the best notes of the other; and although in certain cases a contralto may sing with good effect music written for a male alto (e.g. in some oratorios), yet the converse is scarcely ever true. ["How to Sing," 1890] As a type of saxophone, from 1869.
Example
- 1. Jobs was fascinated enough to summon ng to his palo alto home .
- 2. The company plans to focus sales of the jiangnan alto in china 's inland regions , including hunan , hebei , shanxi , sichuan , shandong , jilin , shanxi , henan provinces , and in rural areas .
- 3. In the palo alto house there are probably enough black cotton turtlenecks for everyone in this church .
- 4. After six years in sydney , he returned to palo alto , california at the peak of dotcom mania .
- 5. One study by researchers at xerox 's palo alto research centre looked at the number of times editorial changes were subsequently reversed .