appoggiatura means A type of musical ornament, falling on the beat, which often creates a suspension and subtracts for itself half the time value of the principal note which follows. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 84 out of 100.
appoggiatura is pronounced /əˌpɒ.d͡ʒəˈtʊɹ.ə/.
Why “appoggiatura” is a great word
APPOGGIATURA — [Noun] A musical ornament, falling on the beat, that creates a suspension by taking a portion of the time value from the principal note that follows. Borrowed from Italian appoggiatura, from appoggiare ("to lean, to support"). First attested in English in 1743. Unlike an acciaccatura—a crushed, fleeting grace note—or a mordent—a rapid, single-pitch oscillation—the appoggiatura is a measured leaning, a deliberate displacement that resolves. It is the sigh before the statement, the catch in the voice before the word, the weighted hesitation on the stair—a formalized fragment of human longing within the strict mathematics of the bar line.
noun
- A type of musical ornament, falling on the beat, which often creates a suspension and subtracts for itself half the time value of the principal note which follows.“The following Adagietto was like a long, melting appoggiatura composed of smaller dying falls and languid resolutions.”