Meanings
nounportamento (plural portamentos or portamenti)
plural portamentos · plural portamenti
- entertainmentA smooth, gliding transition from one note to another; used especially with stringed instruments, and sometimes on brass.
The music was feral, Eastern in scale, flattened seconds and sixths, and a kind of fretless portamento between
2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 945
Origin
- Italianportamento
- Englishportamento
From Italian portamento, from portare (“bear, carry”).
More words from Italian
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 滑音
- 滑音 (huáyīn)sliding tone used in music
Finnish portamento, portaattomasti liukuva sävel
- portamentosliding tone used in music
- portaattomasti liukuva sävelsliding tone used in music
French port de voix
- port de voixsliding tone used in music
Greek πορταμέντο
- πορταμέντο (portaménto)sliding tone used in music
Polish portamento
- portamentosliding tone used in music
Cite this entry
APA
portamento. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/portamento
MLA
“portamento.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/portamento. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “portamento,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/portamento.
Source: portamento on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.