Phrase guide

col legno

adv · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˌkɒl ˈlɛnjəʊ/
  • US: /ˌkoʊl ˈleɪnjoʊ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛnjəʊ
  • rhymes with -eɪnjəʊ

1

adv

Meaning 1

A musical notation indicating that the strings of an instrument are to be struck with the wooden part of the bow.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian col legno (literally “with the wood”).

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Esperanto: per ligno — the strings must be struck with the wood of the bow
  • French: col legno — the strings must be struck with the wood of the bow
  • Italian: col legno — the strings must be struck with the wood of the bow
  • Japanese: コル・レーニョ (koru rēnyo) — the strings must be struck with the wood of the bow