sinfonietta

S1I1N1F4O1N1I1E1T1T1A1
UK/sɪnfəʊˈnjɛtə/

noun

A small-scale symphony (either in length or size of orchestra needed).

OriginItalian sinfonietta ← French symphoniette →
UncommonScrabble 14
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Meanings

nounsinfonietta (plural sinfoniettas or sinfoniette)

plural sinfoniettas · plural sinfoniette

  1. A small-scale symphony (either in length or size of orchestra needed).
  2. A small orchestra.

Origin

  1. Frenchsymphoniette
  2. Italiansinfonietta
  3. Englishsinfonietta

Either: * from Italian sinfonietta; * formed on the Italian roots sinfonia (“symphony”) + -etta (feminine diminutive suffix), either in English or in German (as Sinfonietta) and adopted thence; or, * an alteration of the French symphoniette to resemble an Italian construction of the form sinfonia + -etta. Compare the French–Italian hybrid symphonietta.

More words from Italian, French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish sinfonietta
  • sinfoniettasmall-scale symphony
French symphoniette
  • symphoniettesmall-scale symphony
Romanian simfonietă
  • simfonietăsmall-scale symphony

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

infestationfestination
Cite this entry
APA

sinfonietta. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sinfonietta

MLA

“sinfonietta.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sinfonietta. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sinfonietta,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sinfonietta.

Source: sinfonietta on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.