saltarello means A lively medieval Italian dance with a leaping step.
saltarello is pronounced /ˌsaltəˈɹɛləʊ/.
Why “saltarello” is a great word
A lively medieval Italian dance defined by its leaping step, or the sprightly triple-meter music composed for it. From the Italian saltarello, from saltare ("to jump, to leap"), first attested in English in the late 16th century. Unlike the slow, processional pavan, a measure of grave ceremony, or the feverish, whirling tarantella, born of folk remedy and frenzy, the saltarello is a dance of contained, vertical exuberance. It is the sharp, percussive strike of a leather sole on wood, the sudden catch of breath mid-air, and the precise, repeating melody that seems to bounce of its own accord—a formalized joy, all upward motion and no release, the body’s brief, rhythmic rebellion against the pull of the earth.
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from Italian saltarello, from saltare (“to jump, to leap”).
noun
- A lively medieval Italian dance with a leaping step.
- The music for such a dance.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- pavane 85% match — A musical style characteristic of the 16th and 17th centuries. vs saltarello →
- minuet 84% match — A slow graceful dance consisting of a coupé, a high step, and a balance. vs saltarello →
- courante 84% match — An old French dance from the late Renaissance and the Baroque era in triple metre. vs saltarello →
- gavotte 84% match — A French dance, in either 4/4 or 2/2 time. vs saltarello →
- passacaglia 83% match — A form of historical Spanish or Italian dance characterised by a serious nature, triple meter, and use of a ground bass. vs saltarello →
- vivace 82% match — At a brisk, lively tempo. vs saltarello →
- tarantism 81% match — An extreme urge to dance, popularly thought to have been caused by the bite of a tarantula (Lycosa tarantula) and prevalent in southern Italy in the 15th through 17th centuries. vs saltarello →
- mazurka 81% match — A traditional Polish folk dance in triple time, usually moderately fast, containing a heavy accent on the third beat and occasionally the second beat. vs saltarello →