col legno

UK/ˌkɒl ˈlɛnjəʊ/US/ˌkoʊl ˈleɪnjoʊ/

adverb

A musical notation indicating that the strings of an instrument are to be struck with the wooden part of the bow.

OriginItalian col legno →
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Meanings

adverbcol legno (not comparable)
  1. not comparableentertainmentA musical notation indicating that the strings of an instrument are to be struck with the wooden part of the bow.

    Webern took particular care with the col legno passages. In the quiet ostinatos of the first and third pieces (which can be seen as parallel in many ways), he added weich gezogen (gently drawn) to the col legno indications.

    1996, Kathryn Bailey, editor, Webern Studies, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 156

Origin

  1. Italiancol legno
  2. Englishcol legno

Borrowed from Italian col legno (literally “with the wood”).

More words from Italian

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Esperanto per ligno
  • per lignothe strings must be struck with the wood of the bow
French col legno
  • col legnothe strings must be struck with the wood of the bow
Italian col legno
  • col legnothe strings must be struck with the wood of the bow
Japanese コル・レーニョ
  • コル・レーニョ (koru rēnyo)the strings must be struck with the wood of the bow
Cite this entry
APA

col legno. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/col%20legno

MLA

“col legno.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/col%20legno. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “col legno,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/col%20legno.

Source: col legno on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.