una corda

adverb

Indicating that the player depresses the soft pedal, altering, and reducing the volume of the sound. In many pianos, this results in the hammer striking two strings rather than three as in tre corde. Originally, it would have struck one string, but modern pianos have their strings too close together to achieve a true una corda - the movement of the hammers would result in also hitting the first string of the next note.

Opposite
tre corde
OriginItalian una corda →
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Meanings

adverbuna corda (not comparable)
  1. not comparableentertainmentIndicating that the player depresses the soft pedal, altering, and reducing the volume of the sound. In many pianos, this results in the hammer striking two strings rather than three as in tre corde. Originally, it would have struck one string, but modern pianos have their strings too close together to achieve a true una corda - the movement of the hammers would result in also hitting the first string of the next note.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
tre corde

Origin

  1. Italianuna corda“one string”
  2. Englishuna corda

From Italian una corda (“one string”).

More words from Italian

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

una corda. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/una%20corda

MLA

“una corda.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/una%20corda. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “una corda,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/una%20corda.

Source: una corda on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.