fortissimoadv.n.
/fɔːˈtɪsᵻməʊ/, U.S. /fɔrˈtɪsəmoʊ/ Music.
A. adv.
Very loud. (Abbreviated ff., ffor., or fortiss.) Also quasi-adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > written or printed music > directions > [adverb] > for volume
forte1724
fortissimo1724
pf1724
più piano1724
piano1762
rinforzando1775
crescendo1776
mancando1786
sforzando1786
sforzato1786
forzando1828
1724 Short Explic. Foreign Words Musick Bks. 32 Fortissimo, is Extream loud.
?1760 Ladies & Gentlemens Musical Memorandum 63 When Fame blew fortissimo.
1883 M. E. Braddon Golden Calf I. ii. 50 If their pianissimo passages failed in delicacy, there was no mistake about their fortissimo.
1889 Athenæum 6 Apr. 448/3 A splendid effect being gained by the sudden entry of the combined chorus fortissimo to the words ‘Hosannah! Lord of Lords!’
B. n.
A very loud passage or point; figurative a high pitch of excitement.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > excitement > [noun] > a high degree of excitement
heat1588
boiling-point1773
fever pitch1837
fortissimo1856
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > volume > [noun] > loud tone
forte1760
fortissimo1856
1856 ‘G. Eliot’ in Jrnls. (1998) vii. 265 It was a crescendo of delight when we found a ‘Strawberry’, and a fortissimo when I..saw..an Anthea Cereus.
1885 G. B. Shaw How to become Musical Critic (1960) 69 He [sc. Massenet] pours forth all his energy in a screeching, grinding, rasping fortissimo of extraordinary exuberance and vigor.
1928 Observer 5 Feb. 12/5 The hard and sudden fortissimos.
1928 Daily Express 17 Mar. 9/7 As this jazz harmony reached its fortissimo.
1931 E. Sackville-West Simpson iii. xiii Flinging a fortissimo of emotion—whether of anger or of delight—with sudden and deafening violence on to everything which twitched the robe of his soul.
a1963 C. S. Lewis Poems (1964) 59 Those who have seen no lions must revere A bull for Pan's fortissimo.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.n.1724