alto

== English == === Etymology === Borrowed from Italian alto (“high”). Doublet of old. === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /ˈæl.təʊ/ (US) IPA(key): /ˈæl.toʊ/ Rhymes: -æltəʊ === Noun === alto (plural altos or alti) A musical part or section higher than tenor and lower than soprano, formerly the part that performed a countermelody above the tenor or main melody. A person or musical instrument that performs the alto part. (colloquial, music) An alto saxophone. ==== Usage notes ==== Nouns often modified by "alto": saxophone, clarinet, flute, recorder, part, solo, voice, singer. ==== Synonyms ==== (musical part or section): contratenor altus, high countertenor ==== Coordinate terms ==== (music) SATB (initialism of soprano, alto, tenor, bass) ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === alto on Wikipedia.Wikipedia === Anagrams === ATOL, Toal, a lot, alot, atlo-, lota, talo-, tola == Aragonese == === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin altus, ultimately of Proto-Indo-European origin. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈalto/ Syllabification: al‧to Rhymes: -alto === Adjective === alto (feminine alta, masculine plural altos, feminine plural altas, superlative altismo) tall Antonym: baixo ixas zagalas son altas. ― Those girls are tall. high Antonym: baixo ye un numero alto. ― It's a high number. loud En voz alta. ― Out loud. alto y claro ― loud and clear upper, top === Noun === alto m height (in measurements) === Adverb === alto up, high, highly above, over loudly == Asturian == === Adjective === alto n sg neuter singular of altu == Catalan == === Etymology === Borrowed from German halt. Compare Spanish alto and Portuguese alto. === Pronunciation === === Interjection === alto! stop!, halt! alto el foc! ― cease fire! === Noun === alto m (plural altos) break, rest stop fer (un) alto ― make a stop ==== Derived terms ==== alto el foc donar l'alto == Chavacano == === Etymology === Inherited from Spanish alto (“high”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈalto/ [ˈal.to] Rhymes: -o, -to Hyphenation: al‧to === Adjective === alto high; tall == Dutch == === Etymology === Clipping of alternatieveling or alternatief +‎ -o. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈɑl.toː/ Hyphenation: al‧to === Noun === alto m (plural alto's, no diminutive) (Netherlands, derogatory) someone who participates in an alternative subculture (e.g. a hipster, emo or punk) Synonyms: alternatieveling, alternativo == Esperanto == === Etymology === From alta + -o. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈalto/ Rhymes: -alto Syllabification: al‧to === Noun === alto (accusative singular alton, plural altoj, accusative plural altojn) height; elevation; altitude (Can we date this quote?), Vladimír Váňa (translator), Aventuroj de la Brava Soldato Ŝvejk dum la Mondmilito (The Good Soldier Švejk) by Jaroslav Hašek, Part 1, Chapter 15, (Can we date this quote?), Sergio Pokrovskij (translator), La Majstro kaj Margarita (The Master and Margarita) by Mikhail Bulgakov, Book Two, Chapter 24, ==== See also ==== alteco === Further reading === “alto”, in Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto [Complete Illustrated Dictionary of Esperanto], 2020, →ISBN “alto”, in Reta Vortaro [Online Dictionary] (in Esperanto), 1997-2026 == French == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /al.to/ === Noun === alto m (plural altos) (music) alto (music) ellipsis of violon alto; viola ==== Descendants ==== → Persian: آلتو (âlto) === Further reading === “alto”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Galician == === Etymology === From Old Galician-Portuguese alto, from Latin altus. This form is probably semi-learned or influenced by learned orthography, as with Portuguese alto and Spanish alto. Cf. also the now archaic form outo, which was probably popularly inherited from an unattested hypothetical *outo, present also in place names as Montouto (“High-hill”), from the same Latin word (compare also Old Spanish oto). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈalto/ [ˈɑl̪.t̪ʊ] Rhymes: -alto Hyphenation: al‧to === Adjective === alto (feminine alta, masculine plural altos, feminine plural altas) tall high Antonym: baixo (nautical) deep ==== Derived terms ==== altura ==== Related terms ==== alzar === Noun === alto m (plural altos) top; high place === Adverb === alto high === References === Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “alto”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “alto”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “alto”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “alto”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “alto”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN == Ingrian == === Etymology === From Proto-Finnic *alto. Cognates include Finnish aalto (dialectal alto) and dialectal Estonian ald. === Pronunciation === (Ala-Laukaa) IPA(key): /ˈɑlto/, [ˈɑɫtŏ̞̥] (Soikkola) IPA(key): /ˈɑlto/, [ˈɑɫd̥o̞] (Hevaha) IPA(key): /ˈɑlto/, [ˈɑɫd̥o̞] Rhymes: -ɑlto Hyphenation: al‧to === Noun === alto wave ==== Declension ==== ==== Synonyms ==== laine === References === Ruben E. Nirvi (1971), Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 11 Arvo Laanest (1997), Isuri keele Hevaha murde sõnastik, Eesti Keele Instituut, page 19 == Istriot == === Etymology === From Latin altus (“high”), from Proto-Italic *altos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós, derived from the root *h₂el- (“to grow, nourish”). === Adjective === alto high === References === Sandro Cergna (2015), Vocabolario del dialetto di Valle d'Istria, →ISBN, page 24 == Italian == === Etymology === From Latin altus (“high”), from Proto-Italic *altos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós, derived from the root *h₂el- (“to grow, nourish”). Cognate with English old and Welsh allt. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈal.to/ Rhymes: -alto Hyphenation: àl‧to === Adjective === alto (feminine alta, masculine plural alti, feminine plural alte, superlative altissimo) high, tall Antonym: basso L'uomo alto è mio padre. ― The tall man is my father. deep uno stagno alto 4 metri ― a pond 4 meters deep loud ad alta voce ― in a loud voice ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== → English: alto → German: Alt === Further reading === alto in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana === Anagrams === lato, talo == Kapampangan == === Alternative forms === altao (obsolete, Spanish orthography) altau (archaic) altaw (archaic, Súlat Wáwâ) === Etymology === From earlier altau, metathesis from Proto-Philippine *lətaw. Compare Tagalog litaw and Cebuano lutaw. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /əlˈto/ [əlˈtoː] Hyphenation: al‧to === Verb === altó to float Synonyms: gato, lutang ==== Derived terms ==== === Adjective === altó visible; obvious; evident; apparent Synonyms: lunto, lutang == Ladino == === Etymology === From Latin altus. === Adjective === alto (feminine alta, masculine plural altos, feminine plural altas) high == Latin == === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈaɫ.toː] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈal.to] === Etymology 1 === From altus (“high, deep”) + -ō. ==== Verb ==== altō (present infinitive altāre); first conjugation, no perfect or supine stems to make high, raise, elevate ===== Conjugation ===== ===== Derived terms ===== inaltō === Etymology 2 === See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form. ==== Adjective ==== altō dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of altus === Etymology 3 === See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form. ==== Participle ==== altō dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of altus === References === “alto”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press "alto", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887) “alto”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette. Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎[2], London: Macmillan and Co. == Portuguese == === Pronunciation === (Rural Central Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈaw.tʷ/ Homophone: auto (Brazil) Rhymes: (Portugal) -altu, (Brazil) -awtu Hyphenation: al‧to === Etymology 1 === From Old Galician-Portuguese alto, from Latin altus, ultimately of Proto-Indo-European origin. This form is likely a semi-learned term, or was influenced by learned elements of the language and uses such an orthography, as with Galician and Spanish alto (which have popularly inherited variants outo and oto, respectively). There was once likely an *outo in Old Galician-Portuguese that is not attested, but which left an inherited descendant in Galician. See also outeiro, a related word. ==== Adjective ==== alto (feminine alta, masculine plural altos, feminine plural altas, comparable, comparative mais alto, superlative o mais alto or altíssimo, diminutive altinho, augmentative altão) loud tall high (informal) excessive, extreme ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== alçar altitude ==== Adverb ==== alto (comparable, comparative mais alto, superlative o mais alto) loud; loudly ==== Descendants ==== Kabuverdianu: altu === Etymology 2 === From German halt, imperative form of German halten (“stop”). ==== Interjection ==== alto! halt! ==== See also ==== alto lá! === References === === Further reading === “alto”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 “alto”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026 == Spanish == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈalto/ [ˈal̪.t̪o] Rhymes: -alto Syllabification: al‧to === Etymology 1 === Learned borrowing from Latin altus, ultimately of Proto-Indo-European origin. The form alto represents a pronunciation influenced by the most learned layers of the language, and is not the normal phonetic result expected in a naturally inherited word. Cf. the now archaic form oto, which was used more often in Old Spanish and is the form of the word that was completely popularly inherited, preserved in some toponyms/placenames, and its derivative otear and the rare or regional otar. Compare also archaic Galician outo (versus the standard alto today). See also the related Spanish otero (and Portuguese outeiro). ==== Adjective ==== alto (feminine alta, masculine plural altos, feminine plural altas, superlative altísimo) (with ser or estar) tall Antonym: bajo Esas chicas son altas. ― Those girls are tall. (with ser or estar) high Antonym: bajo Es un número alto. ― It's a high number. (with ser or estar) loud En voz alta. ― Out loud. alto y claro ― loud and clear upper, top senior (rank) ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== ==== Noun ==== alto m (plural altos) height (in measurements) Synonyms: altura, altor ==== Adverb ==== alto up, high, highly loudly === Etymology 2 === Borrowed from German halt. ==== Alternative forms ==== halto ==== Noun ==== alto m (plural altos) stop, halt break, pause, rest (traffic) stop (signal) (traffic) red light Antonym: siga ===== Derived terms ===== ==== Interjection ==== ¡alto! halt!; stop! === Further reading === “alto”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025 === References === == Tagalog == === Pronunciation === (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈʔalto/ [ˈʔal.t̪o] Rhymes: -alto Syllabification: al‧to === Etymology 1 === Borrowed from Spanish alto, from German halt. ==== Interjection ==== alto! (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜎ᜔ᜆᜓ) halt! Synonyms: tigil, hinto, para === Etymology 2 === Borrowed from Spanish alto, from Italian alto, from Latin altus. Doublet of alta. ==== Noun ==== alto (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜎ᜔ᜆᜓ) (music) alto (musical part) alto (person or instrument) ===== Related terms ===== ===== See also ===== === Further reading === “Alto!”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2025 “alto”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2025 “alto”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018 Cuadrado Muñiz, Adolfo (1972), Hispanismos en el tagalo: diccionario de vocablos de origen español vigentes en esta lengua filipina, Madrid: Oficina de Educación Iberoamericana, page 28