Meanings
- not comparableentertainmentExtremely fast, the fastest possible tempo.First known use 18th c.
- not comparableentertainmentVery quickly.First known use 19th c.
A delegation of Norman gentry boldly requesting in 1771 the calling of the Normandy estates (which had been abolished in 1666) was despatched prestissimo to the Bastille.
2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 286
- An extremely section of music.
The dance starts with a slow tempo, but the more the excitement rises the quicker becomes the tempo, until finally it becomes a whirling prestissimo.
1929, Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, Jewish Music: Its Historical Development, page 370
Synonyms & antonyms
adjective(of tempo) as fast as possible
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Italianprestissimo
- Italianprestissimo
- Englishprestissimo
Borrowed from Italian prestissimo.
More words from Italian
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
prestissimo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prestissimo
“prestissimo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prestissimo. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “prestissimo,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prestissimo.
Source: prestissimo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.