glissando
noun, verb
glissando is spelled G-L-I-S-S-A-N-D-O: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 115,751st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, glissando means “Either a continuous sliding from one pitch to another ("true" glissando), or an incidental scale played while moving from one melodic note to another…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of glissando is glissandi or glissandos.
How many letters and syllables are in glissando?
| Letters | 9: G-L-I-S-S-A-N-D-O |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 15 million words; the 115,751st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is glissando?
Glissando appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 115,751st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Forms of glissando
- glissandi plural
- glissandos plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- glissandoes plural
- glissandoing participle, present
- glissandoed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does glissando mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Either a continuous sliding from one pitch to another ("true" glissando), or an incidental scale played while moving from one melodic note to another ("effective" glissando).
- 2
A method of playing an electric guitar in which a metal bar is held at right angles across the strings and rapidly moved up and down, creating a smooth, lush sound.
verb
- 1
To play with a glissando or sliding effect.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate glissando?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of glissando: gliss.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Glissando in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense musical term:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does glissando come from?
Borrowed from Italian glissando.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).