legato

Plural: legatos

Adjective

(music) without breaks between notes; smooth and connected
- "a legato passage"

Adverb

connecting the notes; in music
- "play this legato, please"

Adv

Smoothly, in a connected manner.

Noun

A smooth, flowing musical style with connected notes.
A style of performance characterized by smoothly connected notes.
A passage that is played legato.

Examples

Her Scrabble plays had a legato quality, seamlessly linking words across the board.
Play this passage legato, not portato.

Origin / 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.

Synonyms

smooth

Antonyms

staccato, portato

Scrabble Score: 7

legato: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
legato: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
legato: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 9

legato: valid Words With Friends Word