Standard Lemma guide

legato

adv · noun · 5 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: lə-gäʹtō
  • UK: /ləˈɡɑ.təʊ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: lə-gäʹtō
  • US: /ləˈɡɑ.toʊ/
  • rhymes with -ɑːtəʊ
  • CMU ARPABET: L AH0 G AA1 T OW2 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adv

Meaning 1

Smoothly, in a connected manner.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

Examples

  • Play this passage legato, not portato.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: portato, staccato

2

noun

Meaning 2

A style of performance characterized by smoothly connected notes.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A passage that is played legato.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective

Meaning 4

(music) without breaks between notes; smooth and connected

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a legato passage

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: smooth

Antonyms: staccato

5

adverb

Meaning 5

connecting the notes; in music

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • play this legato, please

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: staccato

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian legato, past participle of legare (“to tie up, tie together, to bind”), learned borrowing from Latin ligō (“tie, bind”). Doublet of ligate.

Across languages

Translations

30 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: լեգատո (legato) — music: smoothly, in a connected manner
  • Dutch: gebonden — music: smoothly, in a connected manner
  • Dutch: legato — music: smoothly, in a connected manner
  • Finnish: legato — music: smoothly, in a connected manner
  • Finnish: sitoen — music: smoothly, in a connected manner
  • French: lié — music: smoothly, in a connected manner
  • German: legato — music: smoothly, in a connected manner
  • German: gebunden — music: smoothly, in a connected manner
  • Greek: λεγκάτο (legkáto) — music: smoothly, in a connected manner
  • Italian: legato — music: smoothly, in a connected manner
  • Māori: rōnaki — music: smoothly, in a connected manner
  • Norwegian: legato — music: smoothly, in a connected manner
  • Polish: legato — music: smoothly, in a connected manner
  • Russian: лега́то (legáto) — music: smoothly, in a connected manner
  • Turkish: legato — music: smoothly, in a connected manner
  • Armenian: լեգատո (legato) — slur curve
  • Chinese Mandarin: 連奏 /连奏 (liánzòu) — slur curve
  • Finnish: legato — slur curve
  • Finnish: legatokaari — slur curve
  • Finnish: sidekaari — slur curve
  • French: lié — slur curve
  • German: legato — slur curve
  • German: gebunden — slur curve
  • Greek: λεγκατούρα (legkatoúra) — slur curve
  • Japanese: レガート (regāto) — slur curve
  • Māori: rōnaki — slur curve
  • Polish: legato — slur curve
  • Russian: лега́то (legáto) — slur curve
  • Spanish: ligado — slur curve
  • Tagalog: banayad — slur curve