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nounverb

il canto

singing

L'atto di emettere suoni musicali con la voce seguendo un ritmo e una melodia.

Definition & meaning

Canto has several meanings:

  • Singing or song, especially as an art or musical expression.
  • A canto: a major division of a long poem, such as Dante’s Divine Comedy.
  • A side or part, mainly in expressions such as dal canto mio , meaning “for my part.”
  • I sing: the first-person singular present form of cantare .

Grammar & Word origin

As a noun, canto is masculine; its plural is canti .

The noun meaning “song” or “singing” comes from Latin cantus. The verb form comes from cantare , from Latin cantare, “to sing.” The sense “side” has a separate origin.

Synonyms & antonyms

  • canzone — “song”; usually a complete musical piece, whereas canto can also mean singing as an activity.
  • strofa — “stanza” or “verse”; a smaller section of a poem or song, not usually a full canto.
  • silenzio — “silence”; a contextual opposite of singing or song.

Common phrases & collocations

  • canto lirico — operatic or classical singing.
  • canto degli uccelli — birdsong.
  • dal canto mio — for my part.

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Examples

Mi piace il canto degli uccelli.noun

I like the singing of the birds.

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