Word origins

• quintoleA group of five notes to be played or sung in the time of three, four or six.
• RacanelliA surname from Italian.
• RaccaA surname from Italian.
• ragatricotta
• RagoneseA surname from Italian.
• ragùAn Italian pasta sauce containing ground meat cooked with sautéed vegetables in tomato sauce or some other kind of liquid.
• RagucciA surname from Italian.
• RaineriA surname from Italian.
• rallentandoslackening; becoming slower (used as a musical direction).
• RamatiA surname from Italian.
• rapiniA vegetable native to China, Brassica rapa subsp. ruvo, with green spiky leaves and a bitter taste.
• RapinoeA surname from Italian.
• RaucciA surname from Italian.
• RavennateOf, from, or concerning Ravenna, a major city in Italy.
• recurrencyThe act or process of recurring; recurrence.
• regatteA cravat tied in such a way that two ends of material dangle from the knot.
• Reggio CalabriaA historical province and metropolitan city of Calabria, Italy.
• reginetteSynonym of mafaldine (“kind of pasta”).
• ReitanoA surname from Italian.
• relievoRelief (surface carving).
• RepiciA surname from Italian.
• RestainoA surname from Italian.
• RestucciaA surname from Italian.
• reticellaAn old Venetian lace-like fabric.
• reticelloA decorative glassblowing technique involving the merging of two cane bubbles (one inside the other) where the straight canes were twisted in opposite directions, resulting in a net-like pattern.
• ribattutaA musical ornament consisting of a trill on a long-short dotted rhythm accelerating to end on either a tremolo or a regular trill.
• RibaudoA surname from Italian.
• ribollitaA traditional Tuscan soup made from reboiled vegetables, with a base of black cabbage and cannellini beans, and the addition of stale bread.
• ricassoThe base of a sword or knife blade where it joins the tang.
• RicciardelliA surname from Italian.
• RicciardoA surname from Italian.
• RiccitelliA surname from Italian.
• ricercarAn instrumental musical composition, fugal in style but in a more serious character and with longer notes.
• ricercataA very elaborate form of fugue.
• ricettoA small fortified area in Italy used to store agricultural products.
• ridottoA public ball, typically a masquerade, popular in the 18th century.
• rifacimentoA literary work or musical composition recast to adapt it to a change in the circumstances of the time.
• rigareeParallel scores on a raised band, tear, or collar produced using ridges on the edge of a metal wheel.
• rigatricotta
• rigatoneA piece of rigatoni.
• RiggiA surname from Italian.
• rigotricotta
• rilievoA relief.
• rinforzandoA mark that indicates that a note is to be played with special emphasis.
• ripienoThe part of a concerto grosso in which the ensemble plays together; contrasted with the concertino.
• risoluto(To be played) boldly, resolutely
• risoniSynonym of orzo (“type of pasta”).
• ristrettoAn espresso drink made with less hot water than normal.
• RitaccaA surname from Italian.
• ritardandoGradually decelerating the tempo of a piece of music, especially at the end of the piece.
• ritenuto(of a passage in a musical score) immediately slower, held back at a slower rate of pace.
• ritornelloA recurring tutti passage in Baroque music for orchestra or chorus.
• ritrattoA picture; a portrait.
• Riviera di LevanteThe eastern section of the Italian Riviera, otherwise known as the Levante Riviera, east of Genoa in Liguria, Italy.
• RobelloA surname.
• rodomontadoA brag or boast; a rodomontade.
• RomanaccioSynonym of Romanesco (“dialect spoken in Rome”).
• romanescoRomanesco broccoli, a light-green edible flower bud of certain forms of Brassica oleracea var. botrytis, which is thus related to broccoli and cauliflower. Its form is a natural approximation of a fractal.
• RomanielloA surname from Italian.
• Roman saluteA gesture in which the arm is held out straight, with palm down and fingers touching; sometimes associated with modern fascist movements.
• RomanucciA surname from Italian.
• RoncaA surname from Italian.
• RoncadoriA surname from Italian.
• RoppoloA surname from Italian.
• RosaniaA surname.
• RosanoA surname from Italian.
• rosolioAny of several sweet liqueurs containing fruit extract.
• rosso corsaA bright red colour commonly used on sports cars.
• RossoneriA.C. Milan
• rosticceriaAn Italian rotisserie (cooking device).
• RotunnoA surname.
• RotzoA town in Vicenza, Veneto, Italy.
• RubboA surname from Italian.
• RuggirelloA surname from Italian.
• rule of cossAlgebra.
• RulliA surname from Italian.
• ruoteA type of pasta in the shape of a spoked wheel.
• RutiglianoA surname from Italian.
• RuvoloA surname.
• SaccavinoA surname from Italian.
• sacra conversazioneA painting depicting the Virgin Mary, infant Jesus and saints in a relatively informal grouping.
• SaggeseA surname from Italian.
• SaladiniA surname from Italian.
• salmoriglioAn Italian condiment made from lemon juice, olive oil, and herbs.
• salottoAn Italian drawing room.
• saltandoPlayed with a rapid, bouncing stroke of the bow on a stringed instrument.
• saltarelloA lively medieval Italian dance with a leaping step.
• saltatoA "springing" stroke in playing the violin.
• salteeA penny.
• saltimbancoA quack doctor, a fraud.
• saltimboccaAn Italian dish of veal, thinly sliced and rolled in prosciutto ham and sage leaves.
• salto mortaleA dangerous and daring jump with possibly lethal outcome.
• salumeCured or cooked meat or sausage, especially in the Italian style.
• salumeriaa shop specializing in salami and the like: a butchershop, delicatessen
• salumiSynonym of salume (“cured or cooked meat”).
• SalzanoA surname from Italian.
• SammarcoA surname from Italian.
• sampietrinoA roughly 12cm square-topped, dark, fine-grained, paving stone with a tapered base, endemic to Rome (first used in the 17th century to pave St. Peter’s Square—whence it received its name—later becoming iconic throughout Rome and further afield in Italy), which was traditionally (albeit not exclusively) quarried from the mafic, alkaline, ultrapotassic leucitite Pleistocene-age lavas erupted by the Alban Hills volcano just outside of the city, although modern replacement stones are often made of similar, yet more readily-available, cheaper basalt, imported from China.
• San BasileA town in Cosenza, Calabria, Italy, known for having a large diaspora of Arbëreshë.
• SangiacomoA surname from Italian.