legato
le·ga·to/ləˈɡɑ.toʊ/adverb, noun
legato is spelled L-E-G-A-T-O: 6 letters and 3 syllables (le·ga·to). It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, legato means “Smoothly, in a connected manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in legato?
| Letters | 6: L-E-G-A-T-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: le·ga·to |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 69,884th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is legato?
Legato appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th 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).
How do you pronounce legato?
- UK /ləˈɡɑ.təʊ/
- US /ləˈɡɑ.toʊ/
Legato has 3 syllables, split le·ga·to in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-legato.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with legato?
9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as legato from its last stressed vowel (/ɑtoʊ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: gelato.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of legato
- legatos plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does legato mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Smoothly, in a connected manner.
Play this passage legato, not portato.
noun
- 1
A style of performance characterized by smoothly connected notes.
- 2
A passage that is played legato.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate legato?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of legato: leg..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Legato in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 legato come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).